Japan expresses 'serious concern' over Israel-Palestine clashes
May 12, 2021
Jerusalem [Israel] May 11, : The Japanese government has expressed concern over the latest developments in East Jerusalem, including the Israel-Palestine clashes and the airstrikes on Tuesday.
"The Government of Japan expresses its serious concern about the latest developments surrounding Israel and Palestine, including clashes and violence in East Jerusalem causing a number of injuries as well as the firing of rockets from Gaza," Sputnik quoted the ministry's statement.
Several nations have urged both sides to exercise restraint amid intensifying tensions.
On Tuesday, Hamas said that it fired 137 rockets in around five minutes in an apparent attempt to overwhelm the Iron Dome missile defence system. Less than an hour later, two women were killed in an apparently separate attack.
One rocket fell next to a bus in Holon, injuring four people, two of them seriously and two of them moderately. Medics said a five-year-old girl was among the wounded in Holon, according to The Times of Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a massage, said Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups will "pay a heavy price" for their attacks on central and southern Israel. "Their blood is on their own hands."
Defence Minister Benny Gantz said Israel has "a great many targets in the pipeline" that it can yet strike in Gaza. "This is only the start."
However, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said that it has set a "new balance of power" and achieved victory in "the battle for Jerusalem", reported The Times of Israel.
Meanwhile, the rocket attacks have prompted Israeli military forces to ramp up retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza, destroying a 13-story residential building in the city.
Israeli bombing raids across Gaza from Monday have killed at least 28 people, including 10 children, and injured at least 152 more, CNN reported citing Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military said it had killed more than 15 militants.
Over 630 rockets were fired at Israel from Monday evening through Tuesday afternoon, 200 of which were intercepted by Iron Dome missile defence batteries while 150 others fell short of their targets and landed inside the Strip, according to the army.
The country has been embroiled in conflict over the impending eviction of dozens of Palestinians from East Jerusalem's neighbourhood.
Over 70 Palestinians in total are set to be evicted from Sheikh Jarrah in the coming weeks to be replaced by right-wing Jewish Israelis. The Palestinians live in houses built on land that courts have ruled were owned by Jewish religious associations before the establishment of Israel in 1948, reported The Times of Israel.
Over 300 Palestinians have been injured in the riots, several of them seriously hurt by rubber-tipped bullets in the head, eye and jaw.
