On Friday, September 6, 2019, the 73rd return march was held in the Gaza Strip. The march was particularly violent, and two Palestinians were killed. Following their deaths five rockets were fired at the Sderot region from the Gaza Strip (two days later there were two more rocket launchings, which failed). No casualties were reported; a fire broke out near Sderot. The following day a drone dropped an IED on an Israeli military vehicle east of Rafah. No casualties were reported; the vehicle was damaged. In response a number of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip were attacked. Given the tension in the region, an Egyptian General Intelligence delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian youth carried out a stabbing attack in the village of Azoun (near Qalqilya), wounding two Israelis, a father and son. Palestinian sources praised the attack, calling it “a high-quality response to Israeli terrorism.” On September 4, 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, where a memorial service was held for the 90th anniversary of the 1929 Hebron massacre.1 Many senior Palestinian figures severely criticized the visit, comparing it to Arik Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount in September 2000, which led to the second intifada.

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