The siege on Al-Aqsa and the collective punishment continue in Jerusalem
The deputy of the Israeli Minister of Transportation, Tsevi Hotabli, raided Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday morning under heavy protection by the Israeli police and among chants of “God is Great” by the Marabouts. The director of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar Kiswani, said that the occupation is continuing its siege on Al-Aqsa from Dawn until before Noon (the period when break-ins are carried out in Al-Aqsa within the “external tourism” program). The forces prevented men under the age of 50 from entering and performing the Dawn Prayer and continued the prevention until the morning hours. In a related matter, the Israeli authorities closed the eastern entrance of the village of Esawyeh (the way leading to Maale Adomim) in concurrent with a wide tax campaign against the commercial establishments and the issuing of traffic tickets in addition to distributing demolition orders. The municipality crews handed orders to five houses in the neighborhood of Oqbat Al-Saraya in the Old City of Jerusalem to remove the water heating devices from the walls of their houses and only gave them until Wednesday morning to execute the orders. Among the families that received the orders were Hajj Sa’ed Saeed Shallodi, Hashlamon and Hammoudeh. The Israeli authorities also removed the water meters for several houses in the neighborhood of Wadi Al-Joz and established checkpoints in the area. The Israeli tax authority also continued its campaign against the Jerusalemites’ houses all over the city.
