Some people asked for a thread on the violence in Israel thats erupted the past few days.

This thread might end up being pretty long because many of the flash points and key players aren’t so familiar to most people outside the Middle East. (1)

To start, I’ll lay out a general timeline of the past few weeks, leading up to where we are now. Along the way I’ll introduce some key figures and provide necessary context, but I encourage you to ask questions.

We are currently at the end of Ramadan, during which Muslims come and pray en masse at Al-Aqsa Mosque. To get there, many go through the Old City’s Damascus Gate. (2)

After groups of Arabs began clashing with Jews outside the gate, Israeli police erected security barriers to prevent anyone from congregating around the gate. Palestinian groups accused Israel of attempting to disrupt prayers at Al-Aqsa and violent protests began at the gate. (3)

After a few nights of clashes between Arab protesters and police, as well as Jewish extremists who attacked at times both Arabs and police, the barricades were removed and calm was mostly restored.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Supreme Court heard arguments in a case brought by right wing jewish activists seeking to claim ownership of homes in the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. (4)

The argument is that since Shiekh Jarrah is built on land that Jews owned, and only fell into Arab hands when Jordan conquered it in 1948, that as many as 36 families should be evicted and the property taken by the state, presumably to pass on to Jewish settlers. (5)

Lower courts have sided with the activists and issued eviction orders, though it’s still pending appeal in the Supreme Court. The escalating legal battle has led to clashes between police and residents of multiple Arab East Jerusalem neighborhoods. (6)

Both Israel and the Palestinian authority also are facing their own turmoil. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government, and his rivals look close to pulling together a broad unity coalition, which includes the Arab “Raam” party. (7)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently canceled PA elections after accusing Israel of preventing Palestinians in East Jerusalem from participating. Many international observers believe the true reason for the cancellation was polling showing Abbas in 3rd place (8)

PA elections are governed by the Oslo accords, under which residents of East Jerusalem can vote through the post office, and permission from is Israel is not needed. The cancelled election would have been the first since 2006, and has been delayed since 2010. (9)

Adding to the chaos, Hamas, the terrorist group that has controlled the Gaza Strip since it expelled Abbas’s Fatah party in 2007, was poised to make major gains in the election, and see an opportunity to further undermine Abbas and inflict pain on Israel at the same time. (10)

Hamas began sending flaming balloons across the border last week in solidarity with protesters in Sheikh Jarrah. These balloons land in Israeli fields and villages and start massive fires. Israel responded by tightening security at checkpoints along the green line. (11)

Tensions escalated dramatically Friday night when Palestinians began rioting on the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount, or Haram al-Sharif to Muslims, is Judaism’s holiest site, and Islam’s third holiest site. As you might have guessed, it’s a pretty sensitive place. (12)

Control of the Temple Mount is also complicated, Israel conquered it, along with the rest of East Jerusalem, during the Six Day War. (that’ll come up again later.) However Israel has given day-to-day control of the complex to the Jordanian and Palestinian Islamic Waqf. (13)

Israel provides security for the Temple Mount, but Israeli police rarely actually enter the complex, and when they do, it becomes front page news. In 2017, police installed metal detectors at the entrances, and it prompted days of rioting until they were removed. (14)

Jews are usually allowed limited access to the Temple Mount, though they are explicitly banned from praying there, which has also caused conflict in the past. (15)

Friday night was Jamat-ul-Vida, one of Islam’s holiest nights of the year as it marks the last Friday of Ramadan. During the day, Palestinians clashed with police around the complex and waved Hamas flags. (16)

On Saturday, Israel tightened security further and began stopping and inspecting busses bound for the Temple Mount. This led to intense rioting around Jerusalem, with Palestinians throwing rocks, blocking highways, as police responded with rubber bullets and water cannons. (17)

On Sunday night, Israel began celebrating “Yom Yerushaliam” marking the reunification of Jerusalem until Israeli control in 1967. In the morning, the rioting from Saturday resumed, with police entering the Temple Mount and clearing the plaza with flash bang grenades. (18)

Clashes then spread around the city, fires were set near the Temple Mount and police continued to clash with Palestinians at the Temple Mount, Damascus Gate and other locations. Hundreds of Palestinians were injured, as well as dozens of police. (19)

All eyes then turned to Monday afternoons Flag March, when Israelis decked out in blue and white parade from west Jerusalem into the old city. Typically, the route includes the Damascus Gate and Muslim quarter, often leading to violence. This year, the march was re-routed. (20)

However, once the March began at 4 PM local time, Hamas issued an ultimatum: Israel must withdraw all personnel from the Temple Mount, Sheikh Jarrah and release all detainees by 6:00 pm, or it would attack. (21)

Israel apparently didn’t take the threat seriously, as the assumption held by Israeli and international experts is that following the 2014 war in Gaza, Hamas had decided that full confrontation with Israel was both a bad military strategy and bad optics. (22)

Nevertheless, shortly after 6 pm, rocket sirens, or “Code Red” as Israelis call it, went off across central Israel, including Jerusalem. Since then, Hamas and its affiliates have launched hundreds of rockets into Israel. Israel has responded with air strikes in Gaza. (23)

That’s essentially where we stand now. (May 11th, 2 pm local time.) Israel has begun calling up its reserves and is moving heavy equipment towards Gaza. Hamas has continued to bombard Israel with rockets, testing the limits of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense systems.

Most of the rockets are targeting the southern cities of Sderot and Ashkelon, but in all of central and southern Israel, offices and schools without bomb shelters are closed today.