JERUSALEM: Depending on where one was in Jerusalem on Tuesday night, Iran’s missile attack on Israel provoked either fervent prayers or cries of joy.

There were expressions of joy in Palestinian districts in the Israeli-annexed east of the city; Jewish prayers in an underground car park in west Jerusalem.

In the eastern quarter of Jerusalem is the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan. Israel seized east Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later annexed it.

One resident said of the reaction in Silwan when the warnings sounded. “As soon as the Palestinians heard the first sirens, there were whistles and applause, and there were cries of Allahu Akbar,” said one resident of the moment the streaks of fire appeared in the night sky. She said people did not go to shelters because they don’t have any. Instead they went out into the streets or onto roofs to see what was happening.

On the other side, in Jerusalem’s west, hundreds of people in the central bus station heeded the Israeli military’s calls and headed underground to take shelter when the air raid sirens wailed. Some of those who gathered in the car park read from religious texts as others stayed glued to their phones.

The dull sound of explosions came from above as Israeli air defences intercepted incoming missiles fired from Iran.

Outside in the open, the dark sky was streaked with light trails from the east, amid the boom of blasts echoing over the city.

In a shelter in Musrara district in west Jerusalem, residents called friends and relatives elsewhere in Israel to exchange news of what was happening.

One man who preferred not to be identified by name said: “We can put things into perspective, but the kids can’t.” He gave out sweets to young ones in the car park, “so they don’t have bad memories” of the situation.

Children were crying, however, and families continued to arrive amid the wave of alerts. Some even expressed surprise as they had not heard of the threat, despite repeated warnings broadcast by the authorities for more than an hour. After the all clear, 17-year-old Alon returned to his small DIY shop.

“It’s been six months since I’ve heard the alert in Jerusalem,” he said of the first time Iran attacked with drones and missiles on the night of April 13-14. “I wasn’t afraid,” he added.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2024