5 apr 2017
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) handed an order on Wednesday to a Palestinian employee at the Awqaf (endowment) Department banning him from entering al-Aqsa Mosque.
The head of the information department at the Islamic Awqaf in Occupied Jerusalem, Tareq al-Hashlamon, said that the Israeli police handed him a decision ordering him to stay away from al-Aqsa Mosque for six months, according to Quds Press news agency.
For his part, the public relations and media official at the Islamic Awqaf, Feras al-Debs, said that the IOA has launched a campaign in the recent months targeting the Islamic Awqaf employees, some of whom were banished and others were arrested.
Debs pointed out that four guards of al-Aqsa Mosque who work for the Islamic Awqaf Department returned to work on Wednesday after several days of banishment.
In a related development, the Israeli police secured protection on Wednesday for 80 Israelis who broke into al-Aqsa courtyards from Bab al-Magharbeh which has been under full Israeli control since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967.
Feras al-Debs affirmed that 48 settlers, including 14 members of the Israeli intelligence and 18 Jewish students, stormed al-Aqsa courtyards in the morning hours.
The head of the information department at the Islamic Awqaf in Occupied Jerusalem, Tareq al-Hashlamon, said that the Israeli police handed him a decision ordering him to stay away from al-Aqsa Mosque for six months, according to Quds Press news agency.
For his part, the public relations and media official at the Islamic Awqaf, Feras al-Debs, said that the IOA has launched a campaign in the recent months targeting the Islamic Awqaf employees, some of whom were banished and others were arrested.
Debs pointed out that four guards of al-Aqsa Mosque who work for the Islamic Awqaf Department returned to work on Wednesday after several days of banishment.
In a related development, the Israeli police secured protection on Wednesday for 80 Israelis who broke into al-Aqsa courtyards from Bab al-Magharbeh which has been under full Israeli control since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967.
Feras al-Debs affirmed that 48 settlers, including 14 members of the Israeli intelligence and 18 Jewish students, stormed al-Aqsa courtyards in the morning hours.
Since the outbreak of the Jerusalem Intifada in Oct. 2015, at least 2,600 Palestinian children have been arrested in Israeli military detention centers notorious for the systematic ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children, rights sources revealed.
The researcher in prisoners’ affairs Riyad al-Ashqar pointed out, in a new report marking the International Child Day, that 320 Palestinian minors are currently held in Israeli custody amid unbearable detention conditions, denied from their basic and fundamental human rights.
Al-Ashqar reported different human rights violations against the detained children including night arrests, brutal assaults, severe beating, violent interrogation techniques, ill-treatment, threats, psychological and physical torture, extracting forced confession, and banning family visits.
He also noted that Israeli arrest campaigns against Palestinian prisoners have been notably escalated since the outbreak of Jerusalem Intifada. Hundreds of them were held in different detention and investigation centers, mostly in notorious Etzion detention center.
17 Palestinian minors were detained after being injured during their arrest, some of whom were transferred to prisons without any medical care or treatment, he said.
According to the report, Palestinian detained children are brought to court not accompanied by a parent and are generally interrogated without the benefit of legal advice. They are overwhelmingly accused of throwing stones and alleged stabbing attacks, an offense that can lead to a potential maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years.
The researcher in prisoners’ affairs Riyad al-Ashqar pointed out, in a new report marking the International Child Day, that 320 Palestinian minors are currently held in Israeli custody amid unbearable detention conditions, denied from their basic and fundamental human rights.
Al-Ashqar reported different human rights violations against the detained children including night arrests, brutal assaults, severe beating, violent interrogation techniques, ill-treatment, threats, psychological and physical torture, extracting forced confession, and banning family visits.
He also noted that Israeli arrest campaigns against Palestinian prisoners have been notably escalated since the outbreak of Jerusalem Intifada. Hundreds of them were held in different detention and investigation centers, mostly in notorious Etzion detention center.
17 Palestinian minors were detained after being injured during their arrest, some of whom were transferred to prisons without any medical care or treatment, he said.
According to the report, Palestinian detained children are brought to court not accompanied by a parent and are generally interrogated without the benefit of legal advice. They are overwhelmingly accused of throwing stones and alleged stabbing attacks, an offense that can lead to a potential maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years.
2 apr 2017
Breaking the Silence Executive Director Yuli Novak speaking at an anti-occupation demonstration in Jerusalem, April 1, 2017
On Saturday night, thousands of Palestinians and Jews gathered in Jerusalem for an anti-occupation protest marking 50 years since the occupation began. Breaking the Silence head Yuli Novak spoke to demonstrators about the importance of solidarity and resistance to the violence and racism of the Israeli government. Below is a transcript of the speech, translated from Hebrew.
These are dark, somber days. Our country is dominated by occupation, messianism, racism, ignorance, callousness, and violence. Blaming the right-wing government won’t help. Nor will sitting in our living rooms fantasizing about the day they’ll be replaced. And please, enough with the “Anyone but Bibi” rhetoric — Yair Lapid is no different.
The change we need to enact here requires courage, honesty, and the willingness to sacrifice something – the willingness to give up privileges and pay a price. Show me one politician – one! – who wants to be prime minister and is also willing to do this.
During dark days like these marked by daily violence, intensifying hatred, terrible racism, the occupation, there’s only one way to win: resistance. Struggle. Solidarity. That’s it. Resistance — that’s our strength and the regime’s weakness. Joining struggles is our hope, and what will bring about the collapse of the regime. Solidarity is our civil power, and the regime’s greatest fear. And there’s nothing more frightening for bad regimes than the moment when citizens stand up, resist, and fearlessly struggle.
When Palestinians do so in nonviolent demonstrations in the occupied territories — in Bil’in, in Hebron, in Sheikh Jarrah — the regime’s response will always involve violence and force. This is why we need to join forces. Because resistance and civilian struggles are the only means to challenge violent regimes. They’re the only means that cannot be suppressed with guns or clubs.
Solidarity is a state of mind. To be willing to sacrifice for the other and to understand that it’s the only act the regime can’t tolerate. Solidarity isn’t an empty slogan. It’s a tool which we’re neither sufficiently familiar with nor trained to use. This state of affairs is convenient for the regime, and has been fostered for decades by right- and left-wing governments – making sure we keep thinking solely of ourselves, keep living in existential fear, keep perceiving the occupation as necessary, and keep looking at racism as something that defines us.
Solidarity is the only act capable of deconstructing such perceptions that have been instilled in us from birth. Solidarity is not only recognition of others’ pain and suffering. Solidarity is, first and foremost, recognition of one’s right to struggle for freedom, and recognition of our responsibility, and duty, to conduct this struggle together. And pay a price together. And be liberated together.
This is also the reason that the government invests the majority of its efforts into incitement, division, creation of hatred and fear.
For those who believe in freedom, equality, and life, we no longer have the privilege of sitting at home. Democratic public spheres are disappearing. Culture, academia, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, democracy, equality, morality and justice — all of them have become victims of the regime on the altar of occupation, settlements, and corruption.
This struggle is critical, and it doesn’t solely belong to Arabs, human rights organizations, the homeless, or Ethiopians. It’s the struggle of all those who wish to live in a liberal democracy. This struggle is against the nationalistic, messianic, racist, destructive regime of occupation.
To avert one’s eyes from the occupation is to cooperate with the wicked regime. To yield before violence is to strengthen it. To remain silent before racism is to legitimize it. To surrender to fear and intimidation is to accept this dark reality, allowing it to continue and intensify.
Each day that goes by without resistance is another day of deteriorating democracy. Each day that goes by without a struggle is another day of violence against Palestinian children. Each day that goes by without solidarity is another day in which racism and nationalism trump morality and justice.
Each day that goes by in which we neglect to merge our society’s tremendous forces — of all colors, ethnicities, and organizations — is another day which strengthens the violent nationalist occupying regime’s belief that nothing can stop it, and that they can carry on with their nationalist project of the occupation undisturbed. That they can continue to destroy, to injure, to harm, to kill.
Today alone, right here beyond these walls, the maintenance and preservation of the occupation continues to take its toll. The victims of this reality — the lives of both Jews and Palestinians — are not predestined. This is the price paid for Israeli governments’ ongoing policy of abandonment and lawlessness.
I say these things here, in Jerusalem. A city whose streets have been dominated by uninhibited, violent, racist, right-wing gangs. A city led by a racist, opportunistic mayor. A capital that bears no semblance to justice and equality.
So yes, I’m calling for us all to join forces in our struggle, here and now. To fight for our truths. To give our all for our future. And to give hope. Because when we struggle against evil in solidarity as a united front, in the end we also win. And yes, one day the occupation will end. And Jerusalem will be what it should be — the capital of a democratic, just, and equitable state.
We can no longer afford to hold on to our privileges. We no longer have the privilege to seek out easy, comfortable solutions for which we don’t have to pay a price.
It’s time to face our fears, the painful but liberating truth: It’s not just Netanyahu. It’s not just Naftali Bennett. It’s not just Yair Lapid. And it’s certainly not Isaac Herzog. It’s us. This struggle is about who we are and who we will be.
And remember: In times like these, the struggle isn’t only the path — it’s the essence. Opposition to the regime is our hope. Our dreams should guide us. Recognition of who we want to be, without senselessly, fruitlessly gripping to “who we were.” Dreams of another space — of equality, unity, and compassion — are the kryptonite of the racist regime of occupation.
Here and now, we say loud and clear: You’ll go on with your violence, and our solidarity will prevail. You’ll continue with your repression, and justice will prevail. You’ll continue to hate and intimidate, and we’ll persevere unflinchingly.
You’ll continue to occupy, and the occupation will end. The occupation will collapse. And then we’ll build a moral democratic society here, where we’ll all have the opportunity for true reform.
This post was originally published in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.
On Saturday night, thousands of Palestinians and Jews gathered in Jerusalem for an anti-occupation protest marking 50 years since the occupation began. Breaking the Silence head Yuli Novak spoke to demonstrators about the importance of solidarity and resistance to the violence and racism of the Israeli government. Below is a transcript of the speech, translated from Hebrew.
These are dark, somber days. Our country is dominated by occupation, messianism, racism, ignorance, callousness, and violence. Blaming the right-wing government won’t help. Nor will sitting in our living rooms fantasizing about the day they’ll be replaced. And please, enough with the “Anyone but Bibi” rhetoric — Yair Lapid is no different.
The change we need to enact here requires courage, honesty, and the willingness to sacrifice something – the willingness to give up privileges and pay a price. Show me one politician – one! – who wants to be prime minister and is also willing to do this.
During dark days like these marked by daily violence, intensifying hatred, terrible racism, the occupation, there’s only one way to win: resistance. Struggle. Solidarity. That’s it. Resistance — that’s our strength and the regime’s weakness. Joining struggles is our hope, and what will bring about the collapse of the regime. Solidarity is our civil power, and the regime’s greatest fear. And there’s nothing more frightening for bad regimes than the moment when citizens stand up, resist, and fearlessly struggle.
When Palestinians do so in nonviolent demonstrations in the occupied territories — in Bil’in, in Hebron, in Sheikh Jarrah — the regime’s response will always involve violence and force. This is why we need to join forces. Because resistance and civilian struggles are the only means to challenge violent regimes. They’re the only means that cannot be suppressed with guns or clubs.
Solidarity is a state of mind. To be willing to sacrifice for the other and to understand that it’s the only act the regime can’t tolerate. Solidarity isn’t an empty slogan. It’s a tool which we’re neither sufficiently familiar with nor trained to use. This state of affairs is convenient for the regime, and has been fostered for decades by right- and left-wing governments – making sure we keep thinking solely of ourselves, keep living in existential fear, keep perceiving the occupation as necessary, and keep looking at racism as something that defines us.
Solidarity is the only act capable of deconstructing such perceptions that have been instilled in us from birth. Solidarity is not only recognition of others’ pain and suffering. Solidarity is, first and foremost, recognition of one’s right to struggle for freedom, and recognition of our responsibility, and duty, to conduct this struggle together. And pay a price together. And be liberated together.
This is also the reason that the government invests the majority of its efforts into incitement, division, creation of hatred and fear.
For those who believe in freedom, equality, and life, we no longer have the privilege of sitting at home. Democratic public spheres are disappearing. Culture, academia, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, democracy, equality, morality and justice — all of them have become victims of the regime on the altar of occupation, settlements, and corruption.
This struggle is critical, and it doesn’t solely belong to Arabs, human rights organizations, the homeless, or Ethiopians. It’s the struggle of all those who wish to live in a liberal democracy. This struggle is against the nationalistic, messianic, racist, destructive regime of occupation.
To avert one’s eyes from the occupation is to cooperate with the wicked regime. To yield before violence is to strengthen it. To remain silent before racism is to legitimize it. To surrender to fear and intimidation is to accept this dark reality, allowing it to continue and intensify.
Each day that goes by without resistance is another day of deteriorating democracy. Each day that goes by without a struggle is another day of violence against Palestinian children. Each day that goes by without solidarity is another day in which racism and nationalism trump morality and justice.
Each day that goes by in which we neglect to merge our society’s tremendous forces — of all colors, ethnicities, and organizations — is another day which strengthens the violent nationalist occupying regime’s belief that nothing can stop it, and that they can carry on with their nationalist project of the occupation undisturbed. That they can continue to destroy, to injure, to harm, to kill.
Today alone, right here beyond these walls, the maintenance and preservation of the occupation continues to take its toll. The victims of this reality — the lives of both Jews and Palestinians — are not predestined. This is the price paid for Israeli governments’ ongoing policy of abandonment and lawlessness.
I say these things here, in Jerusalem. A city whose streets have been dominated by uninhibited, violent, racist, right-wing gangs. A city led by a racist, opportunistic mayor. A capital that bears no semblance to justice and equality.
So yes, I’m calling for us all to join forces in our struggle, here and now. To fight for our truths. To give our all for our future. And to give hope. Because when we struggle against evil in solidarity as a united front, in the end we also win. And yes, one day the occupation will end. And Jerusalem will be what it should be — the capital of a democratic, just, and equitable state.
We can no longer afford to hold on to our privileges. We no longer have the privilege to seek out easy, comfortable solutions for which we don’t have to pay a price.
It’s time to face our fears, the painful but liberating truth: It’s not just Netanyahu. It’s not just Naftali Bennett. It’s not just Yair Lapid. And it’s certainly not Isaac Herzog. It’s us. This struggle is about who we are and who we will be.
And remember: In times like these, the struggle isn’t only the path — it’s the essence. Opposition to the regime is our hope. Our dreams should guide us. Recognition of who we want to be, without senselessly, fruitlessly gripping to “who we were.” Dreams of another space — of equality, unity, and compassion — are the kryptonite of the racist regime of occupation.
Here and now, we say loud and clear: You’ll go on with your violence, and our solidarity will prevail. You’ll continue with your repression, and justice will prevail. You’ll continue to hate and intimidate, and we’ll persevere unflinchingly.
You’ll continue to occupy, and the occupation will end. The occupation will collapse. And then we’ll build a moral democratic society here, where we’ll all have the opportunity for true reform.
This post was originally published in Hebrew on Local Call. Read it here.
A set of tough restrictions are expected to be slapped by the Israeli police across Occupied Jerusalem on the occasion of the Jewish Passover, marked next week.
According to Sunday reports by Hebrew-speaking news outlets, the Israeli police have been discussing ways to intensify military presence across Occupied Jerusalem following the upsurge in anti-occupation attacks carried out by Palestinian protesters, the latest of which occurred on Saturday in Bab al-Amoud, in the Old City. 17-year-old Ahmad Ghazal, from Nablus, was fatally shot by the Israeli forces following the attack.
The Israeli police chief in Occupied Jerusalem, Yoram Levi, expressed fears of an anticipated escalation in anti-occupation attacks on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday.
Passover is a spring festival marked annually by the Jewish community to celebrate their liberation by God from slavery in Egypt. The occasion often culminates in a series of sacrilegious rituals and break-ins at and around holy al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam.
According to Sunday reports by Hebrew-speaking news outlets, the Israeli police have been discussing ways to intensify military presence across Occupied Jerusalem following the upsurge in anti-occupation attacks carried out by Palestinian protesters, the latest of which occurred on Saturday in Bab al-Amoud, in the Old City. 17-year-old Ahmad Ghazal, from Nablus, was fatally shot by the Israeli forces following the attack.
The Israeli police chief in Occupied Jerusalem, Yoram Levi, expressed fears of an anticipated escalation in anti-occupation attacks on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday.
Passover is a spring festival marked annually by the Jewish community to celebrate their liberation by God from slavery in Egypt. The occasion often culminates in a series of sacrilegious rituals and break-ins at and around holy al-Aqsa Mosque—the third holiest site in Islam.
1 apr 2017
Ahmad Zaher Fathi Ghazal 17
A Palestinian youth was shot dead on Saturday afternoon by Israeli gunfire in the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem after stabbing two Israeli soldiers.
Israeli channel ten announced the injury of two soldiers, while, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said a stabbing attack was carried out and the stabber was under control.
Palestinian Health Ministry announced later on the martyrdom of a Palestinian young man, who was not identified yet, after being gunned down by Israeli forces in al-Wad Street in Occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli police who closed all the roads leading to the scene are still investigating in the anti-occupation stabbing attack.
Israeli Police Kills A Palestinian Teen In Jerusalem
Israeli police officers shot and killed, on Saturday afternoon, a Palestinian teenage boy from Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, after he reportedly stabbed a police officer and two other Israeli settlers, in the al-Wad Street, leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem.
The army later forced all stores shut, and abducted 20 Palestinians, including 17 merchants.
The slain teen has later been identified as Ahmad Zaher Fathi Ghazal, 17, from Nablus city, while Israeli sources said that one police officer, was moderately injured, and two Israeli civilians, 18 and 23 years of age, suffered mild wounds in the incident.
Israeli daily Haaretz quoted the police claiming that “the suspect stabbed two persons, and ran away before trying to hide in a residential building where he was chased by the police and injured an officer during an ensuing struggle, before another officer shot him dead.”
Following the incident, the soldiers closed Bab al-‘Amoud, leading to the Sahera Gate and al-Waad Street, before calling for reinforcement, and imposed a tight siege in the area, preventing the Palestinians, including journalists, from entering.
Clashes later took place in the area, before the soldiers and police officers abducted 20 Palestinians, including 17 merchants, and forced all Palestinian stores shut. Video
A Palestinian youth was shot dead on Saturday afternoon by Israeli gunfire in the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem after stabbing two Israeli soldiers.
Israeli channel ten announced the injury of two soldiers, while, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said a stabbing attack was carried out and the stabber was under control.
Palestinian Health Ministry announced later on the martyrdom of a Palestinian young man, who was not identified yet, after being gunned down by Israeli forces in al-Wad Street in Occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli police who closed all the roads leading to the scene are still investigating in the anti-occupation stabbing attack.
Israeli Police Kills A Palestinian Teen In Jerusalem
Israeli police officers shot and killed, on Saturday afternoon, a Palestinian teenage boy from Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, after he reportedly stabbed a police officer and two other Israeli settlers, in the al-Wad Street, leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem.
The army later forced all stores shut, and abducted 20 Palestinians, including 17 merchants.
The slain teen has later been identified as Ahmad Zaher Fathi Ghazal, 17, from Nablus city, while Israeli sources said that one police officer, was moderately injured, and two Israeli civilians, 18 and 23 years of age, suffered mild wounds in the incident.
Israeli daily Haaretz quoted the police claiming that “the suspect stabbed two persons, and ran away before trying to hide in a residential building where he was chased by the police and injured an officer during an ensuing struggle, before another officer shot him dead.”
Following the incident, the soldiers closed Bab al-‘Amoud, leading to the Sahera Gate and al-Waad Street, before calling for reinforcement, and imposed a tight siege in the area, preventing the Palestinians, including journalists, from entering.
Clashes later took place in the area, before the soldiers and police officers abducted 20 Palestinians, including 17 merchants, and forced all Palestinian stores shut. Video
30 mar 2017
An Israeli government-owned company has agreed to allow temple mount groups to hold the Passover sacrifice ceremony in the Umayyad Palaces (archeological park) area close to the Aqsa Mosque, according to Israeli media reports.
The Umayyad Palaces is run by the company for the reconstruction and development of the Jewish quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, a government-owned corporation under the authority of the construction and housing ministry. The company approved the request to hold the ceremony in the park, but required organizers to also receive permission from the police in the city, Haaretz said.
Organizers of the event threatened that if the police refused to issue a permit for the sacrifice ceremony, they would petition the Israeli high court of justice for permission.
Aviad Visoly, a lawyer for the activists, said that if the high court did not overrule the police, the ceremony would be split into two parts, with the sacrifice conducted elsewhere and brought to the site.
The Jerusalem police said the event has not been approved and the issue is still under discussion.
The sacrifice ceremony has been conducted annually as a semi-underground event for the past 15 years. In recent years, the ceremony has become an institution and the most important event for temple mount groups.
Last year, the event was held in the Bet Orot outpost on the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the Aqsa Mosque. This year, organizers decided to hold the ceremony as close to the Temple Mount as possible, just south of the Western Wall Plaza.
In recent years, the Jerusalem municipality has supported the event, which is attended by hundreds of right-wing Israelis, including Knesset members, rabbis and other public figures.
The Umayyad Palaces is run by the company for the reconstruction and development of the Jewish quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, a government-owned corporation under the authority of the construction and housing ministry. The company approved the request to hold the ceremony in the park, but required organizers to also receive permission from the police in the city, Haaretz said.
Organizers of the event threatened that if the police refused to issue a permit for the sacrifice ceremony, they would petition the Israeli high court of justice for permission.
Aviad Visoly, a lawyer for the activists, said that if the high court did not overrule the police, the ceremony would be split into two parts, with the sacrifice conducted elsewhere and brought to the site.
The Jerusalem police said the event has not been approved and the issue is still under discussion.
The sacrifice ceremony has been conducted annually as a semi-underground event for the past 15 years. In recent years, the ceremony has become an institution and the most important event for temple mount groups.
Last year, the event was held in the Bet Orot outpost on the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the Aqsa Mosque. This year, organizers decided to hold the ceremony as close to the Temple Mount as possible, just south of the Western Wall Plaza.
In recent years, the Jerusalem municipality has supported the event, which is attended by hundreds of right-wing Israelis, including Knesset members, rabbis and other public figures.
29 mar 2017
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided, on Monday evening, to reconsider the policy of banning Knesset members from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, based on developments in the security situation, after the coming month of Ramadan.
Israeli channel 2 reported that Netanyahu was under pressure from the right, and intends to allow the resumption of Knesset members’ incursions after three months of banning them.
This decision, according to Al Ray, came after banning members of Knesset to storm Al-Aqsa since the outbreak of the uprising in Jerusalem in October of 2015.
Extremist Israeli settlers and politicians have been violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque on an almost daily basis, and always under the protection of armed occupation forces who often violently attack Palestinian worshipers who try to protect their holy site.
Days of Palestine further reports that Israeli forces have kidnapped seven Al-Aqsa guards in the past 24 hours .
“Four other guards were kidnapped from their homes at dawn on Tuesday,” Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf told Anadolu Agency.
“Three others were kidnapped on Monday, after they prevented a Jewish archaeologist from stealing an ancient stone from inside the Mosque,” he said.
Al-Dibs said that the archaeologist had attempted to steal the stone two times under the protection of Israeli police, triggering clashes between the guards and Israeli forces.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third holiest site. Jews, for their part, claim it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
In September of 2000, a visit to the mosque by Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the “Second Intifada” or “Al-Aqsa Intifada,” a five-year-long popular uprising in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 War. It formally annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as its capital, in a move never recognized by the international community.
Israeli channel 2 reported that Netanyahu was under pressure from the right, and intends to allow the resumption of Knesset members’ incursions after three months of banning them.
This decision, according to Al Ray, came after banning members of Knesset to storm Al-Aqsa since the outbreak of the uprising in Jerusalem in October of 2015.
Extremist Israeli settlers and politicians have been violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque on an almost daily basis, and always under the protection of armed occupation forces who often violently attack Palestinian worshipers who try to protect their holy site.
Days of Palestine further reports that Israeli forces have kidnapped seven Al-Aqsa guards in the past 24 hours .
“Four other guards were kidnapped from their homes at dawn on Tuesday,” Firas al-Dibs, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf told Anadolu Agency.
“Three others were kidnapped on Monday, after they prevented a Jewish archaeologist from stealing an ancient stone from inside the Mosque,” he said.
Al-Dibs said that the archaeologist had attempted to steal the stone two times under the protection of Israeli police, triggering clashes between the guards and Israeli forces.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third holiest site. Jews, for their part, claim it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
In September of 2000, a visit to the mosque by Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the “Second Intifada” or “Al-Aqsa Intifada,” a five-year-long popular uprising in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, in which Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 War. It formally annexed the entire city in 1980, claiming it as its capital, in a move never recognized by the international community.
28 mar 2017
Hamas spokesman Husam Badran said on Tuesday that Israeli escalated aggression on al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, will be met with escalated response from the Palestinian resistance.
Badran warned of the repercussions of Israel’s arbitrary abduction campaign against al-Aqsa’s supervision personnel.
“The Palestinian resistance fighters and activists will never remain mum over the mounting Israeli crimes against al-Aqsa place of worship,” vowed Badran.
“The abductions come at a time when the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a green light for the break-ins at al-Aqsa by Israeli MKs,” the Hamas leader noted.
He further warned of underway calls launched by Israel’s Women for the Temple organization to step up sacrilegious assaults at al-Aqsa Mosque during the upcoming Jewish Passover, to be celebrated in two weeks’ time.
Badran stressed the need to intensify presence at al-Aqsa so as to defend the holy site against the mounting Israeli aggressions.
Six Muslim guards at holy al-Aqsa Mosque are held in Israeli detention centers across Occupied Jerusalem. The guards were arrested by the Israeli forces after they aborted a stone-theft attempt by an Israeli archaeologist at al-Aqsa.
Badran warned of the repercussions of Israel’s arbitrary abduction campaign against al-Aqsa’s supervision personnel.
“The Palestinian resistance fighters and activists will never remain mum over the mounting Israeli crimes against al-Aqsa place of worship,” vowed Badran.
“The abductions come at a time when the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a green light for the break-ins at al-Aqsa by Israeli MKs,” the Hamas leader noted.
He further warned of underway calls launched by Israel’s Women for the Temple organization to step up sacrilegious assaults at al-Aqsa Mosque during the upcoming Jewish Passover, to be celebrated in two weeks’ time.
Badran stressed the need to intensify presence at al-Aqsa so as to defend the holy site against the mounting Israeli aggressions.
Six Muslim guards at holy al-Aqsa Mosque are held in Israeli detention centers across Occupied Jerusalem. The guards were arrested by the Israeli forces after they aborted a stone-theft attempt by an Israeli archaeologist at al-Aqsa.
Just one day after the Israeli army abducted four civilian guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem, the soldiers and police abducted, earlier Tuesday, six more guards, from their homes, after invading and violently searching them, in the city.
The soldiers abducted Khalil Tarhouni, Mohannad Edrees, Samer al-Qabbani, Qassem Kamal, Osama Siyam and ‘Aahed Jouda, after invading and violently searching their homes.
The abducted guards were cuffed and blindfolded, before the soldiers moved them to several detention and interrogation centers in occupied Jerusalem.
On Monday, the soldiers abducted four guards, identified as Salman Abu Mayyala, Luay Abu Sa’ad, Hamza Nimir and Arafat Najeeb. They all remain detained, awaiting a hearing at the District Court in Jerusalem.
The latest abductions of the guards have been carried out after Israeli personnel of the Archology Department invaded the mosque and tried to confiscate some of its historic stones, while many police officers invaded the Al-Marwani mosque in the Muslim holy compound.
During the invasion, the soldiers assaulted many Palestinians, including the head of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani.
The soldiers abducted Khalil Tarhouni, Mohannad Edrees, Samer al-Qabbani, Qassem Kamal, Osama Siyam and ‘Aahed Jouda, after invading and violently searching their homes.
The abducted guards were cuffed and blindfolded, before the soldiers moved them to several detention and interrogation centers in occupied Jerusalem.
On Monday, the soldiers abducted four guards, identified as Salman Abu Mayyala, Luay Abu Sa’ad, Hamza Nimir and Arafat Najeeb. They all remain detained, awaiting a hearing at the District Court in Jerusalem.
The latest abductions of the guards have been carried out after Israeli personnel of the Archology Department invaded the mosque and tried to confiscate some of its historic stones, while many police officers invaded the Al-Marwani mosque in the Muslim holy compound.
During the invasion, the soldiers assaulted many Palestinians, including the head of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani.
