In the wake of the clashes in Jerusalem over contested homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem, a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad warned on Monday that the terrorist organization was ready to fight another round of hostilities as it did in the spring of 2021.
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Khaled al-Batsh, who sits on the organization's politburo in the Gaza Strip, told Palestinian radio, "What happened in the past was the starting point for 'The Sword of Jerusalem' and we are ready to fight round two," he said, referring to the organization's name for the flare-up in May over the same issue (unlike Israel which called it Guardian of the Walls).
"We call on everyone to act in order to stop what the enemy is doing in Sheikh Jarrah," he said. He then added, "We will never stay silent over the enemy's attempts to make the neighborhood Jewish and evict people in the dead of the night; it is unacceptable."
The latest unrest erupted after a Jewish home was torched over the weekend. MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, a right-wing lawmaker, responded to the fire by setting up a makeshift office early Sunday near the home of a family facing possible eviction. Palestinians moved in on Ben-Gvir's tent, throwing plastic chairs in the afternoon and scuffling with his supporters.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett criticized Ben-Gvir and politicians from the other side of the spectrum who were inflaming tensions on Monday, saying that "we do not need provocateurs that will set the region ablaze for political purposes." Bennett added that Israeli law enforcement was capable of dealing with the Palestinian rioters who vandalize Jewish homes and "we have already reinforced the police presence there." He stressed that "firebombing Jewish homes in Israel's capital is intolerable."
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