Jerusalem tension triggers Gaza-Israel fire exchange

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired some three dozen rockets into Israel while the Israeli military struck back at targets operated by the ruling Hamas group

JERUSALEM -- Rocket fire from the Gaza Strip toward Israel resumed Saturday evening after a day-long pause despite calls for calm from the United Nations and threats by Israeli leaders to retaliate fiercely. Tensions in Jerusalem as Palestinians clashed with Israeli police and far-right Jewish groups prompted the heaviest cross-border violence in months between Israel and Gaza. Militants fired a rocket toward Sderot town in southern Israel and it was intercepted by air defenses, the military said. Early Saturday, militants in the Gaza Strip fired some three dozen rockets into Israel, while the Israeli military struck back at targets operated by the ruling Hamas group. The barrage of rocket fire came as hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli police in east Jerusalem. The clashes, in which at least four police and six protesters were injured, have become a nightly occurrence throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and show no signs of stopping.