Fatah says "the battle is continuing" and they will continue their violent “struggle, regardless of the price”
Headline: “Fatah: Our struggle will continue until freedom and the activities to thwart the occupation’s plot in Sheikh Jarrah will continue”
“The Fatah Movement welcomed the cessation of the Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip (refers to ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas, after Hamas launched rocket barrages and Israel responded with a defensive operation; see note below -Ed.).
In a statement yesterday, Friday [May 21, 2021], Fatah said that our people stood firm and sacrificed itself to defend its land, and it recorded an additional epic in its epics of heroism that have not stopped since the invaders attempted to steal the land.
It added that our people, wherever it is, is standing as one in the battle to defend Jerusalem, the holy sites, and the land, and it will continue its struggle regardless of the price until achieving its aspirations for freedom, return, and independence…
Fatah called on all its members, its people, and its [Fatah] Shabiba [Youth Movement] to continue the popular resistance activities in all the points of friction with the occupation until it retracts all its measures, in addition to the need to continue our struggle for the sake of freedom and independence because the battle is continuing.”
Fatah/Hamas Riot and Rocket War 2021 – On April 30, 2021, facing certain electoral defeat, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas cancelled the first PA elections scheduled in 15 years. Hamas, which expected to win the elections, denounced it as a “coup.” In need of a conflict to divert public discontent, Abbas artificially generated a crisis over Jerusalem. His Fatah party called for "raising the level of confrontation,” and Abbas' spokesman told Palestinians "the battle of all battles is here.” Jerusalem Arabs responded by attacking Jews with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Hamas, Abbas' political rival, could not allow Abbas to lead the battle, so on May 10, 2021, Hamas launched rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers including Jerusalem. Over the next 11 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,300 rockets into southern and central Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 9 Israelis and 3 foreign nationals, and wounding hundreds. In response, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls to target Hamas terror leaders and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Already in mid-April, a planned eviction of some Palestinian families illegally living in Jewish-owned buildings in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem had led to clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli police. This dispute provided Palestinians with a pretext for violent rioting. Adding to the crisis, Israeli Arabs started rioting throughout Israel, especially in cities with a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Two Jews were murdered and many were wounded. According to Walla, an independent Israeli news site, 10 synagogues were wholly or partly burned down; fires were set in 112 Jewish homes and 1 Arab home mistaken for a Jewish home; 386 Jewish homes were plundered and 673 were damaged; 849 cars were set ablaze; and there were 5,018 rock-throwing attacks. In response, Jews started attacking Arabs and their properties as well, but on a much smaller scale. No mosques were burned; 13 Arab homes were damaged; 13 Arab-owned cars were burned; and there were 41 rock-throwing attacks by Jews. [Walla, May 16, 2021] The fighting between Israel and Hamas ended with a ceasefire on May 21, 2021.