Masked Palestinian men fly Hamas flags atop the Temple Mount on Friday (Amar Awad, Reuters).
Jerusalem — Tensions in East Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount spilled over into the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict this week, as a volley of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip towards the Israeli community of Sderot were intercepted by the Iron Dome system. One rocket landed outside the city, causing minor structural damage. The Israeli Air Force responded with airstrikes against an alleged Hamas weapons factory inside the Gaza Strip.
The exchange came after a tense week on the Temple Mount during the third week of the 30-day Ramadan season, which culminated Friday with thousands of Palestinians confronting Israeli security forces across the Temple Mount platform. Waving the flags of Hamas and chanting “Khaybar Khaybar, ya Yahud, jaish Muhammad, sa yahud,” translated in English as, “Jews, remember [when Muhammad’s army slaughtered the Jewish community of] Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning,” a group of Palestinians began assaulting Israeli Border Police with stones and fireworks before retreating into al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli security responded with tear gas and closed the Temple Mount complex temporarily. Jewish worshippers below the Temple Mount at the Western Wall were also assaulted by Palestinian stone throwers above them.
Iraqi Kurdistan - The Turkish regime launched “Operation Claw-Lock” against Kurdish PKK militants in Iraqi Kurdistan on April 14, targeting PKK forces around the Kurdish communities of Zap, Metîna and Avaşîn. Coordinated Turkish airstrikes, artillery fire and commando raids have been ongoing in the Zap region for the last week, less than 90 kilometers from the city of Duhok, a base of operations for FAI field personnel. So far, Turkey claims to have killed 45 PKK militants and lost 3 Turkish soldiers, without independent verification.
Despite public protests against the Turkish operation, the Iraqi central government deployed special operations forces toward Mount Sinjar, a major PKK stronghold, in apparent preparation for an offensive against the Kurdish guerilla group. The PKK militia has been active in the Sinjar region since 2014, when it diverted a significant portion of its forces from its conflict with the Turkish government in Kurdish-majority southeast Turkey to confront the advancing Islamic State (ISIS) and protect the non-Muslim Yezidi minority group.
Syrian Kurdistan - Turkish artillery batteries fired four shells on the Syrian Kurdish bastion of Kobane yesterday, injuring two civilians and destroying property. The unprovoked attack came as Turkey closed its airspace to Russian warplanes in alignment with NATO’s ongoing opposition to the Russian offensive in Ukraine. The Turkish regime has leveraged its position as a NATO member state in recent weeks at the expense of Vladimir Putin’s government, which is aligned with Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. Emboldened by a renewed sense of impunity, the Turkish regime has targeted Kurdish SDF forces across Syrian Kurdistan in recent days, including Azez (west of the Euphrates River) and Tel Tamr (east of the Euphrates).
Kobane holds symbolic value to Syrian Kurds as the city where the advance of ISIS was stopped in 2014, followed by a subsequent counter-offensive by the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), resulting in the eradication of the ISIS Caliphate in 2019.
As the incidence of “wars and rumors of wars” continue to increase across the Middle East, we implore the Maranatha global family to join us in prayer for the opening of a “great, effectual door” for Good News in the region. We firmly believe that ongoing hostilities, upheaval and chaos create opportunity for the message of the Prince of Peace.
Maranatha!
