Jerusalem24 – Ramz Bsharat – Rula Zughayer – Today marks the 21st anniversary of the outbreak of the second Intifada, which was sparked when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard, accompanied by his guards, which prompted the worshipers to gather and try to confront him.
Sharon wandered in the Mosque courtyard and said “this holy site” will remain Israeli. This statement provoked the Palestinians in a way that sparked clashes between the worshipers and the Israeli soldiers. Resulting in the killing of 7 Palestinians, the injury of 250 others and injuring 13 Israeli soldiers.
Intense clashes began in the city of Jerusalem and expanded to reach all cites in the West bank and Gaza strip, eventually the incident was called the “Al- Aqsa Intifada.”
The Palestinian child “Mohammad al-Dura” is considered as a symbol of the second Intifada. Two days after the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a video tape taken by a French TV channel on the 30th of September, 2000 showed the chilling scene of how the 11-year-old was killed. Al-Dura was sheltered next to his father behind a cement barrel on Salah Al Deen Street in the southern Gaza city.
The killing of the Al-Dura at the hands of the Israeli army outraged the Palestinians everywhere. They responded by organizing demonstrations on days of rage, and confronting the Israeli army. As a result, many were killed and injured.
In comparison to the first Intifada that erupted in 1987, the second Intifada caused lots of confrontations and clashes. According to statistics, 4412 Palestinian were killed by Israel, while 48322 were wounded. While, 1100 Israeli were killed including 300 soldier, and 4500 others were injured.
Among the events of the second Intifada was the invasion of the Jenin refugee camp and the killing of the commander of the Israeli parachute landing unit, in addition to 58 soldiers, and the injury of 142 soldiers in the camp. Besides, the invasions of many other areas and the destruction of houses and razing of agricultural lands.
