In October 2020, an Israeli court
ruled that several Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah—a neighborhood in East Jerusalem—were to be evicted by May 2021 with their land
handed over to Jewish families. In February 2021, several Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah filed an appeal to the court ruling, prompting
protests around the appeal hearings, the ongoing legal battle around property ownership, and the
forcible displacement of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem.
In late April 2021, Palestinians began demonstrating in the streets of Jerusalem to protest the pending evictions, and residents of Sheikh Jarrah—along with other activists—began to host nightly
sit-ins. In early May, after a court
ruled in favor of the evictions, the protests expanded, with Israeli police
deploying force against demonstrators. On May 7, following weeks of daily demonstrations and rising tensions between protesters, Israeli settlers, and police during the month of Ramadan, violence broke out at the al-Aqsa Mosque
compound in Jerusalem, with Israeli police
using stun grenades, rubber bullets, and water cannons in a clash with protestors that left hundreds of Palestinians
wounded.
After the clashes in Jerusalem’s Old City, tensions increased throughout East Jerusalem, compounded by the celebration of
Jerusalem Day. On May 10, after several consecutive days of violence throughout Jerusalem and the use of lethal and nonlethal force by Israeli police, Hamas, the militant group which governs Gaza, and other Palestinian
militant groups launched hundreds of
rockets into Israeli territory.
Israel responded with artillery bombardments and airstrikes, several of which
killed more than twenty Palestinians, against targets in Gaza. While claiming to target Hamas, other militants (such as those from
Palestinian Islamic Jihad), and their
infrastructure—including tunnels and rocket launchers—Israel expanded its aerial campaign and struck non-military infrastructure including residential buildings,
media headquarters, and
refugee and
healthcare facilities.
On May 21, 2021, Israel and Hamas agreed to a
cease-fire, brokered by Egypt, with both sides claiming victory. More than 250 Palestinians were
killed and nearly 2,000 others wounded, and at least 13 Israelis were killed over the eleven days of fighting. Authorities in Gaza estimate that tens of millions of dollars of
damage was done, and the United Nations estimates that more than 72,000 Palestinians were
displaced by the fighting.