PA President Abbas condemned attacks against Israeli civilians, but officials in his Fatah party express support for violence; Hamas, Islamic Jihad share posts praising terrorism
Both Ramallah and Gaza have stayed mostly quiet on the Russian invasion; PA and Hamas have long had ties to Russia and little interest in losing Moscow's support
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Rockets fired toward Israel from Gaza are intercepted by Israel s Iron Dome on May 10, 2021. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)
Early on Monday evening, as air raid sirens wailed across Jerusalem, the capital’s residents stood for a few moments, shocked, before running for shelter.
Hamas immediately claimed responsibility for the first rocket fire at the capital in years. It and other terror groups fired hundreds of rockets from Gaza into Israel over the coming hours.
Even as the rockets flew, a senior Hamas official took to a Lebanese television station to declare that appearances to the contrary the terror group was not interested in all-out struggle. He demanded that Israeli forces cease deploying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and engaging in pitched battles with worshippers.