A Jewish prayer in an underground parking lot, candy to children in a shelter, shouts of joy in a Palestinian neighborhood: in Jerusalem, the Iranian missile attack on Israel was met very differently depending on where one was.

When the sirens sounded, hundreds of people at the central bus station on the west side of the city fled to the underground car park, following the army’s instructions.

Some began to read psalms. Others looked at their mobile phones as explosions could be heard clearly outside as missiles were intercepted in mid-air by anti-aircraft defences.

On the road, in the night sky, the trajectory of the projectiles directed from the east to the west was clearly visible. Repeated explosions echoed throughout the holy city.

In the shelter of Musrara, a suburb in west Jerusalem, residents called friends and relatives to give updates, to make sure everyone was okay. A man who preferred not to be named told an AFP reporter: “We can understand it, but the children can’t.” For this, he gave them candies “so they don’t have bad memories“, as he explained.

The children were crying. Families arrived each time the sirens sounded, some caught off guard: they hadn’t heard of the impending threat, despite repeated warnings from authorities and the media, for more than an hour.

Changing environment and reactions in Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem annexed by Israel in 1967.

“As soon as the Palestinians (in the neighborhood) heard the first sirens, they started whistling, then clapping and shouting Allahu Akbar (‘God is great’),” said one resident. Here, the residents did not go to the shelters but to the street or the rooftops, to see the spectacle, he explained.

In the west, as soon as the alarm ended, 17-year-old Alon returned to his small workshop. ““I haven’t heard alarm sirens in Jerusalem for six months,” he said, referring to the first Iranian attack on the night of April 13-14. “I’m not afraid“, he assured.

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