21 dec 2014
Settlers in Bethlehem area on Sunday
As Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem prepare for the annual Christmas celebration -- the biggest day of the year in the city where Christians believe that Jesus was born -- a group of Israeli settlers invaded the area on Sunday in preparation for the establishment of another illegal colony on stolen Palestinian land.
The area in question is the neighborhood of Beit Bassa, located in the eastern part of Beit Sahour, the town next to Bethlehem which is known to Christians as the place where the shepherds saw the angel directing them to the birthplace of Jesus.
The settlers arrived with an Israeli military escort, and walked around near Palestinian homes, farmland and shops, causing no damage but taking numerous pictures, apparently for surveying purposes to plan for the construction of a new illegal settlement colony.
Already in Beit Sahour, an abandoned Israeli military base called Ush Ghraib has been re-inhabited by Israeli soldiers and settlers who hope to establish a permanent militarized settlement colony on the site -- despite the illegality of such a measure.
Another local site, the mountain known as Abu Ghneim, was illegally seized by Israeli forces in the 1990s and has been turned into the large settlement colony of Har Homa.
Over 500,000 Israeli settlers currently live in illegally established settlement colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Israeli government has a policy of recognizing these colonies once they are established, then providing infrastructure including electricity, water, sewage and trash pickup services, as well as military protection -- despite the fact that these colonies are constructed on stolen Palestinian land.
The establishment of new Israeli colonies is usually preceded by the type of 'site visit' that was endured by the residents of Beit Bassa on Sunday. The Israeli settler colonizers then move in under cover of night with RVs and truck containers, which they place on a site and begin to reside there. Palestinians who attempt to get their land back through legal means are rebuffed by the Israeli court system which provides them no legal protection.
All Israeli settlement colonies in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, and under multiple signed 'peace accords' and agreements in which the Israeli government agreed to pull its civilian population out of the West Bank. The Israeli government has never honored those signed agreements, and has vastly expanded the number and size of its settlement colonies in the West Bank in the past twenty years.
As Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem prepare for the annual Christmas celebration -- the biggest day of the year in the city where Christians believe that Jesus was born -- a group of Israeli settlers invaded the area on Sunday in preparation for the establishment of another illegal colony on stolen Palestinian land.
The area in question is the neighborhood of Beit Bassa, located in the eastern part of Beit Sahour, the town next to Bethlehem which is known to Christians as the place where the shepherds saw the angel directing them to the birthplace of Jesus.
The settlers arrived with an Israeli military escort, and walked around near Palestinian homes, farmland and shops, causing no damage but taking numerous pictures, apparently for surveying purposes to plan for the construction of a new illegal settlement colony.
Already in Beit Sahour, an abandoned Israeli military base called Ush Ghraib has been re-inhabited by Israeli soldiers and settlers who hope to establish a permanent militarized settlement colony on the site -- despite the illegality of such a measure.
Another local site, the mountain known as Abu Ghneim, was illegally seized by Israeli forces in the 1990s and has been turned into the large settlement colony of Har Homa.
Over 500,000 Israeli settlers currently live in illegally established settlement colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Israeli government has a policy of recognizing these colonies once they are established, then providing infrastructure including electricity, water, sewage and trash pickup services, as well as military protection -- despite the fact that these colonies are constructed on stolen Palestinian land.
The establishment of new Israeli colonies is usually preceded by the type of 'site visit' that was endured by the residents of Beit Bassa on Sunday. The Israeli settler colonizers then move in under cover of night with RVs and truck containers, which they place on a site and begin to reside there. Palestinians who attempt to get their land back through legal means are rebuffed by the Israeli court system which provides them no legal protection.
All Israeli settlement colonies in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, and under multiple signed 'peace accords' and agreements in which the Israeli government agreed to pull its civilian population out of the West Bank. The Israeli government has never honored those signed agreements, and has vastly expanded the number and size of its settlement colonies in the West Bank in the past twenty years.
Flocks of Israeli fanatic settlers on Sunday stormed Muslims’ holy al-Aqsa Mosque amid simmering calls to desecrate the compound on the occasion of Jewish holidays.
Members of the Aqsa guards said over 40 Jewish settlers pushed their way into the sacred compound via al-Maghareba gate.
The peaceful Muslim worshipers maintaining vigil at the Mosque foiled a settler’s attempt to desecrate the holy site and perform sacrilegious rituals near its gates.
The break-in comes at a time when affiliates and branches of the so-called Temple Mount Trustees organization stepped up calls to vandalize the Mosque on Monday to mark the Hanukah ceremony.
Earlier on Saturday afternoon a number of ill-famed Jewish rabbis and Israeli occupation leaders joined a ceremony staged by Jewish settler gangs near the Buraq Wall.
Hanna Issa, Secretary General of the Islamic-Christian Committee in support of Jerusalem and the Holy Sites, warned in a statement on Sunday of the serious repercussions of such simmering calls for defiling holy al-Aqsa, dubbing such a sacrilegious campaign a serious escalation and an offensive act that pays no heed, whatsoever, to the sentiments of the Muslim Nation.
He further raised alarm bells over Jewish intents to carve out a space for the alleged temple on the ruins of holy al-Aqsa complex in an attempt to enforce a new fait accompli and impose a spatio-temporal division.
Hanna attributed the flaring tension in Occupied Jerusalem to Israel’s hounding of the Muslim and Christian congregations.
He further spoke out against Israel’s violations of Muslims’ and Christians’ freedom of religion, belief, and worship, rights that have been guaranteed by all international laws and treaties.
Members of the Aqsa guards said over 40 Jewish settlers pushed their way into the sacred compound via al-Maghareba gate.
The peaceful Muslim worshipers maintaining vigil at the Mosque foiled a settler’s attempt to desecrate the holy site and perform sacrilegious rituals near its gates.
The break-in comes at a time when affiliates and branches of the so-called Temple Mount Trustees organization stepped up calls to vandalize the Mosque on Monday to mark the Hanukah ceremony.
Earlier on Saturday afternoon a number of ill-famed Jewish rabbis and Israeli occupation leaders joined a ceremony staged by Jewish settler gangs near the Buraq Wall.
Hanna Issa, Secretary General of the Islamic-Christian Committee in support of Jerusalem and the Holy Sites, warned in a statement on Sunday of the serious repercussions of such simmering calls for defiling holy al-Aqsa, dubbing such a sacrilegious campaign a serious escalation and an offensive act that pays no heed, whatsoever, to the sentiments of the Muslim Nation.
He further raised alarm bells over Jewish intents to carve out a space for the alleged temple on the ruins of holy al-Aqsa complex in an attempt to enforce a new fait accompli and impose a spatio-temporal division.
Hanna attributed the flaring tension in Occupied Jerusalem to Israel’s hounding of the Muslim and Christian congregations.
He further spoke out against Israel’s violations of Muslims’ and Christians’ freedom of religion, belief, and worship, rights that have been guaranteed by all international laws and treaties.
20 dec 2014
A number of extremist Israeli settlers attempted, on Friday evening, to kidnap a Palestinian child on the main road, leading to Huwwara village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
The child, Nadim Majd As’ous, 4 years of age, from Burin village south of Nablus, was with his father, who works as a Palestinian security officer, when a number of settlers driving on the road, stepped out of their car, and approached the child before attempting to grab him.
The father stepped out of his car for a minute before the settlers approached his car, but they ran away when the child started screaming.
The child suffered from shock, and was moved to a local hospital for treatment, the Maan News Agency said.
The father drove after the settlers, but they managed to enter the Bracha illegal settlement, built on lands that belong to residents of Burin village.
The child, Nadim Majd As’ous, 4 years of age, from Burin village south of Nablus, was with his father, who works as a Palestinian security officer, when a number of settlers driving on the road, stepped out of their car, and approached the child before attempting to grab him.
The father stepped out of his car for a minute before the settlers approached his car, but they ran away when the child started screaming.
The child suffered from shock, and was moved to a local hospital for treatment, the Maan News Agency said.
The father drove after the settlers, but they managed to enter the Bracha illegal settlement, built on lands that belong to residents of Burin village.
19 dec 2014
A Palestinian bus driver was injured, Thursday, after a number of Israeli extremists assaulted him at the Central Bus Station in West Jerusalem.
The driver, identified as Anwar Tawil, 32, works for the Israeli Egged Bus Company.
He hospitalized after a number of Israeli extremists assaulted him on Thursday evening.
Eyewitnesses said the incident took place in the Central Bus Station in Jaffa Street, in West Jerusalem.
They added that Tawil was talking with another man in Arabic before the Israeli extremists assaulted him.
He suffered several cuts and bruises to his back and legs, and was moved to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center suffering moderate injuries.
On Saturday at night, December 6, a Palestinian bus driver, also working for the Egged Bus Company, was injured after a number of extremists boarded his bus in occupied Jerusalem.
On November 17, a Palestinian bus driver, also working for Egged Bus Company, was hanged to death by Israeli fanatics.
The driver, identified as Anwar Tawil, 32, works for the Israeli Egged Bus Company.
He hospitalized after a number of Israeli extremists assaulted him on Thursday evening.
Eyewitnesses said the incident took place in the Central Bus Station in Jaffa Street, in West Jerusalem.
They added that Tawil was talking with another man in Arabic before the Israeli extremists assaulted him.
He suffered several cuts and bruises to his back and legs, and was moved to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center suffering moderate injuries.
On Saturday at night, December 6, a Palestinian bus driver, also working for the Egged Bus Company, was injured after a number of extremists boarded his bus in occupied Jerusalem.
On November 17, a Palestinian bus driver, also working for Egged Bus Company, was hanged to death by Israeli fanatics.
An Israeli settler claimed, on Thursday at night, that two Palestinians tried to kidnap him as he was waiting for an Israeli bus in the bus junction located at the entrance of Keryat Arba’ illegal settlement, in Hebron city, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.
The settler phoned the police and alleged that a Palestinian car transporting two Palestinians “stopped near him”, and that the two tried to force him into their car.
He said that, after the two failed to abduct him, they drove away, heading towards the southern part of Hebron city.
The settler was unharmed; a large number of Israeli soldiers and police officers arrived at the scene of the alleged abduction attempt, and initiated a large search campaign in the area.
The settler phoned the police and alleged that a Palestinian car transporting two Palestinians “stopped near him”, and that the two tried to force him into their car.
He said that, after the two failed to abduct him, they drove away, heading towards the southern part of Hebron city.
The settler was unharmed; a large number of Israeli soldiers and police officers arrived at the scene of the alleged abduction attempt, and initiated a large search campaign in the area.
A group of Israeli settlers, Thursday, cut power to an electricity line that had been supplying a Palestinian home in the village of Burin, to the south of Nablus, according to a local official.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an News Agency that dozens of settlers cut off electricity to the home of Bilal Eid, in the eastern part of Burin village.
Clashes reportedly erupted between settlers from nearby "Jewish-only" segregated outposts and Palestinian locals, as a result of the incident.
Mr. Daghlas said that Israeli settlers also sprayed "racist graffiti" and Star of David symbols on Palestinian homes in the area.
Burin is a frequent site of settler violence and Palestinian clashes with Israeli forces, Ma'an notes, as it is located beside the notoriously violent Israeli settlements of Yitzhar and Bracha.
Settlers frequently attack local villages and prevent farmers from reaching their lands, according to UNOCHA, in addition to their attacks on local olive trees.
So far in 2014, there have been some 313 reported incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an News Agency that dozens of settlers cut off electricity to the home of Bilal Eid, in the eastern part of Burin village.
Clashes reportedly erupted between settlers from nearby "Jewish-only" segregated outposts and Palestinian locals, as a result of the incident.
Mr. Daghlas said that Israeli settlers also sprayed "racist graffiti" and Star of David symbols on Palestinian homes in the area.
Burin is a frequent site of settler violence and Palestinian clashes with Israeli forces, Ma'an notes, as it is located beside the notoriously violent Israeli settlements of Yitzhar and Bracha.
Settlers frequently attack local villages and prevent farmers from reaching their lands, according to UNOCHA, in addition to their attacks on local olive trees.
So far in 2014, there have been some 313 reported incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
18 dec 2014
Al-Aqsa Mosque guards have foiled Thursday morning an Israeli attempt to film al-Aqsa Mosque using a small aircraft.
The guards noticed the aircraft over the Old City and managed to prevent its access to al-Aqsa Mosque.
On the other hand, 30 Israeli settlers in three groups broke into the holy shrine from the Magaribeh gate under heavy police protection.
Palestinian worshipers protested against the settlers’ break-in and started shouting Takbeer amid heavy presence of the Mosque’s guards.
The guards noticed the aircraft over the Old City and managed to prevent its access to al-Aqsa Mosque.
On the other hand, 30 Israeli settlers in three groups broke into the holy shrine from the Magaribeh gate under heavy police protection.
Palestinian worshipers protested against the settlers’ break-in and started shouting Takbeer amid heavy presence of the Mosque’s guards.
17 dec 2014
Palestinian medical sources have reported, Tuesday, that a woman was injured after being hit by a speeding Israeli settler’s car, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia.
The sources said the woman, Emtithal Abdullah Qashwa’, was struck while trying to cross the road, and that the settler fled the scene.
Qashwa’ is a teacher at the Nabi Elias Secondary School, east of Qalqilia.
She was moved to the Darwish Nazzal Hospital in Qalqilia, suffering several fractures and bruises. Her injuries have been described as moderate-but-stable.
There have been numerous similar incidents in different parts of the occupied West Bank, including in Jerusalem, causing dozens of injuries and several fatalities.
On Monday, November 24, a child suffered several fractures and bruises, after being struck by a speeding settler’s vehicle, west of occupied Jerusalem.
On Friday, November 21, a Palestinian woman was wounded after an Israeli settler deliberately rammed her with his car in Shu’fat town, north of occupied Jerusalem, and fled the scene. http://www.imemc.org/article/69801
The sources said the woman, Emtithal Abdullah Qashwa’, was struck while trying to cross the road, and that the settler fled the scene.
Qashwa’ is a teacher at the Nabi Elias Secondary School, east of Qalqilia.
She was moved to the Darwish Nazzal Hospital in Qalqilia, suffering several fractures and bruises. Her injuries have been described as moderate-but-stable.
There have been numerous similar incidents in different parts of the occupied West Bank, including in Jerusalem, causing dozens of injuries and several fatalities.
On Monday, November 24, a child suffered several fractures and bruises, after being struck by a speeding settler’s vehicle, west of occupied Jerusalem.
On Friday, November 21, a Palestinian woman was wounded after an Israeli settler deliberately rammed her with his car in Shu’fat town, north of occupied Jerusalem, and fled the scene. http://www.imemc.org/article/69801
Dozens of Jewish settlers broke into the holy Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday morning under heavy police protection.
SAFA news agency quoted Firas al-Dibbis, the spokesman for the Islamic Awkaf in Jerusalem, as saying that more than 30 Jewish settlers entered the holy compound in groups and toured its courtyards amidst tight police escort.
He added that hundreds of worshipers and vigilantes from Jerusalem and 1948 occupied Palestine were present inside the Mosque and confronted the settlers with Takbeer and protest slogans.
Dibbis said that Israeli policemen at the outside gates of the Mosque detained ID cards of all women and young men wishing to enter the holy site and provocatively searched their handbags.
He underlined that all throughout the settlers’ tour the Israeli policemen were intensively deployed outside and inside the holy site.
SAFA news agency quoted Firas al-Dibbis, the spokesman for the Islamic Awkaf in Jerusalem, as saying that more than 30 Jewish settlers entered the holy compound in groups and toured its courtyards amidst tight police escort.
He added that hundreds of worshipers and vigilantes from Jerusalem and 1948 occupied Palestine were present inside the Mosque and confronted the settlers with Takbeer and protest slogans.
Dibbis said that Israeli policemen at the outside gates of the Mosque detained ID cards of all women and young men wishing to enter the holy site and provocatively searched their handbags.
He underlined that all throughout the settlers’ tour the Israeli policemen were intensively deployed outside and inside the holy site.
16 dec 2014
Jewish settlers broke into the holy Aqsa Mosque’s courtyards on Tuesday morning in groups under tight Israeli police protection.
Eyewitnesses said that the settlers entered the holy site under the guise of foreign tourism and toured the plaza in front of the Dome of the Rock.
They said that the settlers listened to explanations on the alleged temple and performed Talmudic rituals.
Eyewitnesses said that the settlers entered the holy site under the guise of foreign tourism and toured the plaza in front of the Dome of the Rock.
They said that the settlers listened to explanations on the alleged temple and performed Talmudic rituals.
The Jerusalem Post has reported that the acid thrown by a Palestinian on six Israelis in the occupied West Bank, Friday, was actually vinegar, according to Channel 2.
The victims were reportedly taken to Hadassah University Medical Center with light injuries and released from the hospital the next day.
A Palestinian man from Nahhalin town, near Bethlehem, was shot and seriously injured by Israeli settler fire, after soldiers alleged that he had sprayed an Israeli settler with acid.
The indiscriminate nature of attacks on Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces and illegal settlers is consistent with colonial Israeli repression and is widely documented.
The victims were reportedly taken to Hadassah University Medical Center with light injuries and released from the hospital the next day.
A Palestinian man from Nahhalin town, near Bethlehem, was shot and seriously injured by Israeli settler fire, after soldiers alleged that he had sprayed an Israeli settler with acid.
The indiscriminate nature of attacks on Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces and illegal settlers is consistent with colonial Israeli repression and is widely documented.
At least six Palestinian citizens were rounded up by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Tuesday while another civilian sustained critical wounds throughout a round of abrupt assaults launched across al-Khalil province.
Local sources said the IOF soldiers stormed Wadi al-Herya neighborhood via more than seven military jeeps and raided Palestinian family homes.
Heavy barrages of tear gas canisters have reportedly been unleashed in the process, resulting in injuries suffered by the young man Omar Amr.
Omar’s brother along with youngster Majed al-Himouni and another family member of Omar’s were kidnapped by the IOF in the process.
Sources based in al-Tabaka village, south of Dura town in al-Khalil province, said the IOF troops broke into Palestinian civilians’ homes and nabbed the ex-prisoner Mahmoud Hakam al-Haribat along with his peer Riadh Abu Ras. Both captives were dragged to an unidentified destination.
Earlier, overnight Monday the IOF apprehended a 20-year-old university student from al-Khalil at the Container checkpoint, pitched east of the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Local press said the Israeli occupation patrols deployed at the checkpoint stopped Palestinian vehicles and scoured them before dragging the aforementioned youth, identified as Salah Ahmad Khalil al-Awawda, to an unknown location.
The IOF soldiers have stepped up arbitrary mass-abduction campaigns in the area over the past couple of weeks.
Earlier, on Monday evening the Israeli occupation army cordoned off al-Khalil’s Yatta town and closed the main road to Terka in an attempt to set the stage for settler vandalism in the area.
Coordinator for the anti-settlement committee in Yatta, Rateb al-Jabour, said a flock of Israeli extremist settlers, from the Susia and Maoun settlements, took to Street 60 and yelled racist and anti-Arab mottos inciting violence against Palestinians and Arabs.
Local sources said the IOF soldiers stormed Wadi al-Herya neighborhood via more than seven military jeeps and raided Palestinian family homes.
Heavy barrages of tear gas canisters have reportedly been unleashed in the process, resulting in injuries suffered by the young man Omar Amr.
Omar’s brother along with youngster Majed al-Himouni and another family member of Omar’s were kidnapped by the IOF in the process.
Sources based in al-Tabaka village, south of Dura town in al-Khalil province, said the IOF troops broke into Palestinian civilians’ homes and nabbed the ex-prisoner Mahmoud Hakam al-Haribat along with his peer Riadh Abu Ras. Both captives were dragged to an unidentified destination.
Earlier, overnight Monday the IOF apprehended a 20-year-old university student from al-Khalil at the Container checkpoint, pitched east of the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Local press said the Israeli occupation patrols deployed at the checkpoint stopped Palestinian vehicles and scoured them before dragging the aforementioned youth, identified as Salah Ahmad Khalil al-Awawda, to an unknown location.
The IOF soldiers have stepped up arbitrary mass-abduction campaigns in the area over the past couple of weeks.
Earlier, on Monday evening the Israeli occupation army cordoned off al-Khalil’s Yatta town and closed the main road to Terka in an attempt to set the stage for settler vandalism in the area.
Coordinator for the anti-settlement committee in Yatta, Rateb al-Jabour, said a flock of Israeli extremist settlers, from the Susia and Maoun settlements, took to Street 60 and yelled racist and anti-Arab mottos inciting violence against Palestinians and Arabs.
15 dec 2014
A large number of extremist Jewish settlers escorted by police forces on Monday morning desecrated the Aqsa Mosque's courtyards.
A spokesman for the Islamic Waqf Authority in Jerusalem told SAFA news agency that 26 settlers entered the Aqsa Mosque compound in groups and toured its courtyards.
He added that one of the settlers tried to force his entry onto the plateau of the Dome of the Rock and verbally attacked Palestinian men and women there, which prompted the Mosque's guards to expel him from the entire holy place.
During the presence of Jewish settlers inside the Mosque, Israeli policemen at its gates were restricting the entry of Muslim young men and women and confiscating their ID cards before allowing them in.
The spokesman for the Islamic Waqf also said that the Israeli police summoned Murad Hamad, one of the Aqsa Mosque's guards, without stating the reason for their action.
A spokesman for the Islamic Waqf Authority in Jerusalem told SAFA news agency that 26 settlers entered the Aqsa Mosque compound in groups and toured its courtyards.
He added that one of the settlers tried to force his entry onto the plateau of the Dome of the Rock and verbally attacked Palestinian men and women there, which prompted the Mosque's guards to expel him from the entire holy place.
During the presence of Jewish settlers inside the Mosque, Israeli policemen at its gates were restricting the entry of Muslim young men and women and confiscating their ID cards before allowing them in.
The spokesman for the Islamic Waqf also said that the Israeli police summoned Murad Hamad, one of the Aqsa Mosque's guards, without stating the reason for their action.
14 dec 2014
Extremist Jewish settlers on Sunday morning desecrated the Aqsa Mosque's courtyards and did some provocative acts amid tight police protection.
An eyewitness told SAFA news agency that about 15 Jewish settlers, including women, toured different areas of the Aqsa Mosque and tried to provoke Muslim worshipers.
He added that the Mosque's guards prevented one of the settlers from ascending to the plateau of the Dome of the Rock.
Hundreds of Muslim worshipers were present inside the Mosque in the morning to prevent any settler from performing Jewish rituals in its courtyards, while the Israeli police embarked on confiscating the ID cards of Palestinian citizens before allowing them in.
Different Jewish temple mount groups, including "women for the temple," had incited their followers to march en masse on Sunday to the Aqsa Mosque.
The Aqsa Mosque is exposed to almost daily break-ins by Jewish settlers as part of an Israeli plan to impose its sovereignty over it and divide it spatially and temporally between Muslims and Jews.
Extremist Settlers Continue to Storm Al Aqsa, Further Demolition Orders Imposed in Jerusalem
Israeli settlers again stormed Al Aqsa Mosque, this Sunday, guarded by Israeli "special forces", Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency reports.
According to a worshiper at the mosque, about 15 Israeli settlers stormed Al Aqsa from the Mughrabi gate, during the morning hours, touring its courtyards in the presence of hundreds of worshipers from Jerusalem and pre-1948 occupied lands and, finally, exiting from the door of al-Selsela.
The mosque's congregation confronted the militant incursion chanting "Allahu Akhbar!" (God is Greatest!), as Israeli police stationed at the gates confiscated the personal IDs of a number of women and some men.
Some of the settlers reportedly provoked the worshipers, in addition, while one tried to climb to the plate Dome of the Rock, making provocative gestures. Al Aqsa guards intervened and the settler was promptly ejected from the courtyards.
"Students for the Temple", "Women for the Temple", "Hliba" and other organizations have called upon their supporters to take part in wide raids on the mosque, in preparation for the Hebrew Festival of Lights.
Al Aqsa witnesses almost daily incursions by Israeli settlers and Jewish extremist groups, in their attempt to wield full control over it, imposing a temporal and spatial division of the mosque.
-- --
Also in occupied East Jerusalem, Sunday, Israeli authorities notified several Palestinians of orders to demolish their homes in the neighborhood of Silwan, according to local sources.
Witnesses told WAFA correspondence that Israeli police, accompanied by staff from the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem, broke into the area and served notices to local residents in regard to the municipality’s plan to demolish their homes, again under the pretext of "building without a permit".
Issuance of construction permits for Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, occupied since 1967, has been restricted, WAFA reports, as authorities rarely issue such permits -- forcing the majority of the city’s residents to build houses to seek shelter without a permit.
The authorities also impose unreasonable fees, in the case that a permit is issued, for which Jerusalemites tend to evade red tape pertaining to permission procedures.
Since 2004, Israel has demolished hundreds of houses under this pretext, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Unlike Jewish migrants who enjoy a variety of legal rights and unlimited facilities with regard to construction, indigenous Palestinian residents of the city always find themselves compelled to demolish their homes, upon Israeli notice, and seek a house rental instead.
Related: 06/02/14 Tens of Thousands of Jerusalemite Palestinians Still Lacking Water
Furthermore, thousands of Jerusalemites have also been forced to leave the city, to flee the Israeli restrictions.
An eyewitness told SAFA news agency that about 15 Jewish settlers, including women, toured different areas of the Aqsa Mosque and tried to provoke Muslim worshipers.
He added that the Mosque's guards prevented one of the settlers from ascending to the plateau of the Dome of the Rock.
Hundreds of Muslim worshipers were present inside the Mosque in the morning to prevent any settler from performing Jewish rituals in its courtyards, while the Israeli police embarked on confiscating the ID cards of Palestinian citizens before allowing them in.
Different Jewish temple mount groups, including "women for the temple," had incited their followers to march en masse on Sunday to the Aqsa Mosque.
The Aqsa Mosque is exposed to almost daily break-ins by Jewish settlers as part of an Israeli plan to impose its sovereignty over it and divide it spatially and temporally between Muslims and Jews.
Extremist Settlers Continue to Storm Al Aqsa, Further Demolition Orders Imposed in Jerusalem
Israeli settlers again stormed Al Aqsa Mosque, this Sunday, guarded by Israeli "special forces", Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency reports.
According to a worshiper at the mosque, about 15 Israeli settlers stormed Al Aqsa from the Mughrabi gate, during the morning hours, touring its courtyards in the presence of hundreds of worshipers from Jerusalem and pre-1948 occupied lands and, finally, exiting from the door of al-Selsela.
The mosque's congregation confronted the militant incursion chanting "Allahu Akhbar!" (God is Greatest!), as Israeli police stationed at the gates confiscated the personal IDs of a number of women and some men.
Some of the settlers reportedly provoked the worshipers, in addition, while one tried to climb to the plate Dome of the Rock, making provocative gestures. Al Aqsa guards intervened and the settler was promptly ejected from the courtyards.
"Students for the Temple", "Women for the Temple", "Hliba" and other organizations have called upon their supporters to take part in wide raids on the mosque, in preparation for the Hebrew Festival of Lights.
Al Aqsa witnesses almost daily incursions by Israeli settlers and Jewish extremist groups, in their attempt to wield full control over it, imposing a temporal and spatial division of the mosque.
-- --
Also in occupied East Jerusalem, Sunday, Israeli authorities notified several Palestinians of orders to demolish their homes in the neighborhood of Silwan, according to local sources.
Witnesses told WAFA correspondence that Israeli police, accompanied by staff from the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem, broke into the area and served notices to local residents in regard to the municipality’s plan to demolish their homes, again under the pretext of "building without a permit".
Issuance of construction permits for Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, occupied since 1967, has been restricted, WAFA reports, as authorities rarely issue such permits -- forcing the majority of the city’s residents to build houses to seek shelter without a permit.
The authorities also impose unreasonable fees, in the case that a permit is issued, for which Jerusalemites tend to evade red tape pertaining to permission procedures.
Since 2004, Israel has demolished hundreds of houses under this pretext, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Unlike Jewish migrants who enjoy a variety of legal rights and unlimited facilities with regard to construction, indigenous Palestinian residents of the city always find themselves compelled to demolish their homes, upon Israeli notice, and seek a house rental instead.
Related: 06/02/14 Tens of Thousands of Jerusalemite Palestinians Still Lacking Water
Furthermore, thousands of Jerusalemites have also been forced to leave the city, to flee the Israeli restrictions.