On the morning of Tuesday, July 18, dozens of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque
and its courtyards. The settlers, as usual, stormed the mosque on the western
side of the Magharba Gate. The raid was carried out under the protection of the
occupation police, who also accompanied them on their provocative tours against
the Palestinians in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa. The policemen, under threat, forced
the Palestinians out of the mosque's courtyards, with the aim of providing
protection for the settlers. This means that the violations committed by extremist
groups of settlers are approved and supported by the Israeli official level,
especially under a right-wing government. This time of the raid, the number of
settlements was large, as the Islamic Endowments Department stated in a
statement that 252 settlers participated in the raid, and dozens of Israeli
policemen accompanied them.
Facts and events indicate that Al-Aqsa Mosque is subjected to storming almost
daily by settlers, and the intrusions are in large numbers during the Jewish
holidays, as happened, for example, on May 25, when hundreds of settlers
stormed Al-Aqsa courtyards during the Jewish holiday, which is called the Jewish
Harvest holidays (Shavuot). During this incursion, which took place in the
morning, the Palestinians were expelled and forced to leave the mosque, and
they were forbidden to pray. The Palestinians were forced to pray outside the
mosque at the gates and in the alleys and streets surrounding the mosque, and
this often happens when the Israeli police close the mosque's gates or put military
checkpoints on them.
The violations committed by the settlers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque through the
continuous incursions, attacks on Palestinian worshipers, tours in the mosque, its
courtyards and the courtyards of the Dome of the Rock, and the revival of Jewish
religious holidays in it. And all of this is under the protection and care of the
occupation police, who in turn attack Palestinian worshipers, including them from
expressing their religious rites or even protesting against settler violations, and
they also issued dozens of orders against many Palestinians, preventing them
from entering the mosque for long periods of time. And the continuous arrests
against them, especially young men and women. Closing the mosque gates and
setting up military barriers at the mosque's doors and in the places that lead to it.
And the practice of violence against worshipers by firing tear gas and live and
rubber bullets, which led to the injury of dozens, and the attempt to build iron
gates at the entrances to the mosque, less than three years ago, which the
Palestinians confronted and thwarted this project. All these measures and
violations by settlers and Israeli governments, especially this right-wing
government, whose ministers are involved in violations against the Palestinians in
Al-Aqsa, such as the Minister of Internal Security, Ben Gavier.
But the Palestinians reject this policy and these measures and always confront
them, despite the suffering they suffer from arrest, beatings, and expulsion from
the mosque. This means that what is happening in Al-Aqsa Mosque constitutes a
dangerous escalation of the security situation, not only in Al-Aqsa Mosque and
Jerusalem, but also in all of Palestine. Because what is happening in Al-Aqsa
Mosque is a violation of the freedom of worship in Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the
practice of the occupation to proceed with the Judaization of Jerusalem after
annexing it and declaring it the capital of the Israeli State , even though Jerusalem
is occupied lands in the year 67, and the occupation authorities are prohibited
from taking any measures that affect this legal status of the occupied territories
according to legitimacy decisions international law, the Fourth Geneva
Conventions and international humanitarian law. Despite international criticism of
Israel, it continues its Judaization policy in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa.
Written by Ahmad Jaradat ( AIC-P)