Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett orders a new airstrike on the Gaza Strip

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After a burning balloon launched by the Palestinian militant Hamas provided an early test for the new prime minister, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ordered a new air strike on the Gaza Strip overnight.

On Tuesday, the Bennett government allowed right-wing settlers to march to the Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem to celebrate after Israel’s conquest of the Holy City in the 1967 war, the Hamas balloon appeared. With images on social media of Israeli police beating Palestinian youths on horseback and throwing stun grenades to keep them hundreds of meters away from the right-wing settlers, the number of balloons has increased.

The three-day government retaliatory attack was the first of its kind since the 11-day aerial bombing last month. The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had attacked “military bases and conference venues” overnight. There were no casualties.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, did not retaliate with rockets. Its balloons caused a small fire near the border. This shows that Egypt, the United States and the United Nations are holding a ceasefire to end the conflict in May.

But the outbreak highlights the challenge Bennett inherited from the deposed prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His predecessor signed a “quiet for quiet” policy with Hamas to respond to the attack with limited air strikes. The situation changed when the rockets of the militants penetrated into Israel on May 10, sparking the most recent conflict.

As the Minister of Education of the previous government, the ultra-nationalist technology millionaire Bennett (Bennett) once Asked the military to shoot and kill the Palestinians light Burning balloonThese balloons were blown into Israel by the sea breeze and caught fire in Israeli agricultural areas around the Gaza Strip.

But Bennett is now in charge of an eight-party coalition, from the far right to the left, relying on votes from Islamic Arab parties that support his government. He also faces pressure from the right to prove his ultra-nationalist qualifications with a harsher response and show that he has left the Islamic Arab parties that support his government.

“In Israel, we have a minority Zionist government for the first time-it depends on whether it exists in a party that belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood like Hamas,” said retired Brigadier General Amir Avivi. Leading the 2,000 former Israeli generals, military officers and Mossad agents who lobbied for stronger military operations. “If they are the ones who decide whether this government exists, they have tremendous political power-we are worried about Israel’s national security.”

There is no indication that Bennett’s decision to attack has been influenced by his alliance partners, and the limited air strikes against balloons are part of the established “escalation ladder” that the Israeli military has followed for many years.

Tuesday’s attack occurred after a parade of right-wing settlers. Some people from West Jerusalem to the Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem yelled “Death to the Arabs” and “Let your city burn”. On May 10, after weeks of clashes between Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Israeli police, and just before Hamas fired a round of rockets to Jerusalem to warn Israel to stop a series of planned deportations and marches, The flag parade was cancelled on May 10. That volley triggered the latest conflict.

The re-arranged parade route was diverted to avoid the Muslim quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem. This was a political decision by the Bennett government and a concession to his coalition allies. A few settlers were allowed to approach the old city, and the Damascus Gate itself was closed to prevent them from entering the abandoned Muslim quarter.

For Netanyahu’s allies, the decision to change course was a failure of the Bennett government. “I personally think that we should not cancel certain activities because of terrorist threats-it’s not like we tell anyone in Gaza when and where to march,” said Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, who supports more. Jewish. Settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

“It’s all ours,” said 50-year-old Oliver Hasid, who came from the coast to participate in the parade. “We won the war, so we own this city-Muslims need to remember this.”

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