Protests in Gaza against the attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Palestinian struggle for national liberation and against the Israeli occupation has again come to a head with the start of the religious holiday of Ramadan. Muslims, as well as Christians, are prevented by the Zionist state from celebrating their religious festivals and are subjected to outrageous repression.
Dozens of Palestinians have been shot dead by Israel's colonial forces and hundreds have been arrested since mid-March. The Israeli police and army have carried out operations in mosques, Palestinian refugee camps and occupied cities, especially those with the longest history of resistance. The reactionary forces have also raided homes, arbitrarily arrested Palestinians and murdered adults and youth. More than 25 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of April.
Since 15 and 16 April, the beginning of Ramadan, the Zionist state of Israel has barred Palestinians from entering the West Bank. The reactionary army announced that it would deploy additional forces in the West Bank and imposed a general blockade on the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the Jewish Passover holiday, preventing anyone from entering or leaving the area.
Fighting against the occupation forces in Beita in the West Bank.
Palestinians respond with resistance
On 15 April, major fighting broke out at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, leaving 150 Palestinians injured and about 300 arrested. This fighting was the result of a raid by Zionist forces who stormed the first Ramadan prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque and met determined resistance from Palestinians. Israeli police stormed the mosque and fired gas bombs and rubber bullets at the Palestinians, who fought back with stones and firecrackers. In the Zionist raid, the site, sacred to Muslims, was vandalised by the reactionary military, with doors broken down and tiles smashed.
Protests outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the only place in Palestine that remains sovereign, meaning Palestine has the power to decide how it is run. Al-Aqsa Mosque is where the second Palestinian intifada was sparked in 2000 after an Israeli politician entered the mosque with several heavily armed police officers. The 2021 protests, which were the prelude to more than two weeks of Israeli bombardment, also emanated from Zionist attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.
With the holy holiday for Muslims and the decades-long suppression of Ramadan in mind, several Palestinians carried out attacks on Israeli citizens and members of the response from 22 March onwards, killing some 14 people. One of the cases of attacks on Zionists occurred on 08 April when a 40-year-old Palestinian from Jenin refugee camp was searching an Israeli policeman in the midst of an arrest. In the face of police brutality, the man, in order to defend himself, stabbed the policeman and was killed on the spot by the officer. Another case was that of a 15-year-old Palestinian youth who stabbed a 47-year-old Israeli in the leg in the city of Haifa on 15 April. On 10 April, a Palestinian woman stabbed and injured an Israeli border police officer in the southern city of Hebron before being killed by Israeli forces.
Against this backdrop, reactionary Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett threatened that the war against the Palestinians would have "no limits". But no matter how brutally the Zionist bloodhounds oppress and massacre the Palestinian people; the Palestinians continue to fight until the end of the occupation, until Palestine is liberated from the river to the sea.
