In 2015: A dangerous escalation at Al-Aqsa Mosque….34 Martyrs in Jerusalem and the arrest of 2297 Jerusalemites
Wadi Hilweh Information Center issued his 2015 yearly report and monitored the main events in the city of Jerusalem especially the Israeli violations against Jerusalemites and their properties.
The center explained in its report that the occupation authorities escalated their violations in 2015 which witnessed major events highlighted by Al-Aqsa Mosque which is considered the “ticking bomb” that escalates the situation in the city of Jerusalem in particular and the Palestinian territories in general when violated. The Palestinian territories including Jerusalem witnessed a popular uprising that started at the beginning of October where dozens of attacks (stabbing, shooting and run-over) were carried out in response to violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque by settlers and occupation forces.
Among the most prominent violations highlighted by the information center in 2015 were the violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque, Martyrs in Jerusalem, arrests, settlers’ assaults, settlements, demolitions, collective punishment policy, deportations from Jerusalem, violations against the right to education and suppressing various events in Jerusalem.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
The Israeli escalation against Al-Aqsa Mosque continued in 2015 through joint assaults by governmental parties, leader of the right-wing extremist and “alleged temple” groups supported by the occupation police. Official calls to allow Jews to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque and practice their religious rituals inside it without any time limits continued in 2015; they also requested to allow Jews to break-in through other gates not only Dung Gate. Members of the Knesset and other leaders requested to allocate special areas for Jews to pray in addition to preventing Muslims from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque during Jewish holidays.
Situations at Al-Aqsa Mosque escalated with the beginning of the Jewish holidays in the second half of last year and reached its peak in September and October resulting in an uprising all over the Palestinian territories.
In August 2015, the occupation authorities started applying the “temporal division” of Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and settlers by imposing a siege on the Mosque and closing most of its gates for several days in addition to controlling the entrance of Muslims and imposing restrictions on them while providing settlers with complete protection and allowing them to break into Al-Aqsa through Dung Gate under the umbrella of the so-called program “foreign tourism”.
The number of settlers breaking into Al-Aqsa Mosque reached 11307 extremists in 2015 in which the month of September witnesses the largest number of break-ins (1575” during the so-called “Jewish New Year” and “Sukkot” followed by the month of April (1213) during the Passover holiday and October (1164) and November (1015).
The break-ins happened every day except for Fridays and Saturdays and were usually through Dung Gate which was taken over by the occupation authorities when they occupied East Jerusalem. The Israeli authorities are responsible for this “break-in” program which is refused by the Islamic Awqaf and the Marabouts who continuously confront the extremists by chats of “God is Great” and daily presence in Al-Aqsa.
The months that were the hardest on Al-Aqsa Mosque were from the end of September until the beginning of October to secure the settlers’ break-ins during the Jewish holiday “Sukkot” where the holiday season every year becomes the season to violate the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In a dangerous precedent and a new escalation at Al-Aqsa Mosque, the occupation Special Forces raided on 3/10/2015 the Mosque and evacuated all Marabouts who attempted to stay and sleep inside Al-Aqsa, and in another incident the forces executed arrests from inside Al-Qibali Mosque in two consecutive days in September.
Settlers also launched a plane equipped with a recording camera Al-Aqsa Mosque several times and one settler raised the Israeli flag in Al-Aqsa courtyards. During break-ins, settlers deliberately practiced their religious rituals and insulted the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and Muslims.
Closures and restriction on the entrance of Muslims
The Israeli authorities imposed restrictions on the entrance of Muslims to Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform Prayers on 18 occasion last year (not including Fridays) and closed most of Al-Aqsa Gates except for “Hutta, Al-Silsileh, and Al-Majles” Gates; they prevented citizens from freely entering and exiting the Mosque.
Restrictions were imposed on men and women as follows:
July 26th: Preventing young men and women from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the Dawn Prayer; prevented continued until before noon.
On August 2nd, most of Al-Aqsa gates were closed from 7 a.m. until 11 a.m. and restrictions were imposed on the entrance of women and young men.
On September 13th, young men and women were prevented from enter Al-Aqsa too perform the Dawn Prayer, and restriction of the entrance of Muslims were imposed on the 14th and 15th while young men and women were prevented from performing all prayers.
On the 23rd of September, men under the age of 40 were not allowed to enter Al-Aqsa to the Dawn prayer and all Muslims weren’t allowed to enter on the 27th for the Evening and Night Prayers.
On the 28th, 29th and 30th of September, men and women under the age of 50 were not allowed to enter Al-Aqsa for all prayers.
From October 1st until October 5th, men and women under the age of 50 were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Dawn until the Night prayer while on the 6th the restrictions were only imposed between the Dawn and Afternoon Prayers.
During last August, the occupation authorities obstructed the entrance of summer camps’ children to Al-Aqsa Mosque during their summer holiday and deliberately detained them by iron barriers at Al-Aqsa gates for no reason.
Clashes inside Al-Aqsa courtyards
Armed occupation forces raided Al-Aqsa Mosque 8 times during 2015 beginning on July 26th and then on August 2nd and the 13th, 14th, 15th, 27th and 28th of September and finally on the 3rd of October. The raid usually occurred after the Night Prayer to evacuate the worshippers and Marabouts; two people were arrested.
The occupation authorities executed arrests from inside Al-Qibali Mosque for the first time on the 14th of September and once again on the 15th. They also raided the Mosque on the 4th day of Al-Adha Eid resulting in the breakout of limited clashes inside Al-Aqsa courtyards.
On the 28th of September, the occupation forces brought iron shields on wheels inside Al-Aqsa through Dung Gate for the first time to protect themselves from stones.
During the raids, Al-Aqsa courtyards were turned into a battle field as the forces attacked the Palestinians present in the courtyards and assaulted them with sound grenades, rubber bullets and pepper gas in addition to hitting them with batons. Also, snipers were stationed on the roof of Al-Qibali Mosque which was closed with iron chains and wooden blocks and was under siege.
The forces also deliberately damaged historical landmarks during the raids and damaged colored windows in addition to damaging the windows’ protectors using special tools. They also deliberately fired sound grenades towards Al-Qibali Mosque which led to the burning of several square meters of carpet inside the Mosque.
Restrictions and banning young men from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the Friday Noon Prayer
The occupation authorities imposed restrictions on the entrance of worshippers into Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform the Friday Noon Prayer five times. Men under the age of 45 were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa and were forced to pray in the streets of Jerusalem and at the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem on the 31st of July, 18th of September, 2nd and 9th and 16th of October; note that restrictions were also imposed on the Dawn Prayer as well.
Friday Prayers were held on the asphalt in the streets of Jerusalem and roads leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City and at Al-Aqsa Gates.
“Black List”
In a serious action taken against a number of Palestinian women, the occupation authorities prepared a so-called “black list” at the end of August following an order from the Chief of Israeli police in the Old City of Jerusalem, Avi Baytoon, against women who create problems inside Al-Aqsa Mosque according to his claims.
In the beginning, the list included the names of 20 names and reached 70 names at the end of the year mostly females. The occupation authorities not only prevented the people listed in the “black list” from entering, but also assaulted them with beating and sound grenades especially in August, September and October. They also harassed them at Al-Aqsa Gates and in the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Marabouts at Al-Aqsa Mosque
At the beginning of September, the so-called Minister of Defense, Moshe Yaalon, issued a decision considering the Marabouts at Al-Aqsa Mosque as an “illegal organization” that aims at disturbing public security at Al-Aqsa through obstructing the settlers’ break-ins to Al-Aqsa and creating problems” as recommended by the intelligence service “Shabak” and the Israeli police.
Isolations from Al-Aqsa Mosque
The occupation authorities isolated 297 Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque in 2015 for periods that varied between 10 days and 6 months following orders from the occupation police or its intelligence. Among those isolated were 126 women, 9 girls, 8 minors and 12 of Al-Awqaf employees.
Interference in renovation works
The occupation authorities continued preventing the maintenance employees from carrying out renovation works inside Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards and prevented construction material from being brought-in.
Martyrs
Occupation forces, settlers and “guards” carried out several executions and cold-blood murders against Palestinian children and young men in the city of Jerusalem as the Israeli justification to open fire towards them was always ready which is “attempting to stab or stabbing a soldier or a settler”. In most cases, the evidence to confirm the occupation’s claims were not revealed despite the fact that most areas where incidents occurred have surveillance cameras in the streets but the Israeli authorities insisted on hiding the truth which confirms that was happened in Jerusalem was “cold-blooded murders”.
The forces deliberately left the injured people bleeding on the ground without providing them with necessary first aid which could possibly save their lives. Instead, they get busy taking off the shoes and clothes of the injured Palestinian and humiliating him at questioning him at times as revealed in recordings shared on social media. Recording also showed the possibility of arresting the suspect without killing him. Also, videos showed settlers assaulting, kicking and insulting the injured in the presence of Israeli police which provided them with full protection.
In 2015, 34 Martyrs passed in the city of Jerusalem including 6 boys and one girl
24 Jerusalemite Martyrs…Geographical distribution of Martyrs was as follow: Jabal Al-Mukabber (6), Shu’fat refugee camp and Anata (4), Silwan (3), Beit Hanina (3), Esawyeh (3), Kufor Aqab (2), one in each of Al-Tur and the Old City of Jerusalem and one female Martyr from Qalandia refugee camp.
Also, 10 Martyrs passed away in the city of Jerusalem were from different areas in the West Bank (Al-Bireh, Qalandia, Hebron, Tulkarem, Nablus, Qattana, Abu Dis and Ezaryeh).
At the end of April 2015, the 17-year old Ali Mohammad Abu Ghannam passed away after being shot at Z’ayem military checkpoint under the pretext of attempting to stab a soldier; and at the end of May, the 48-year old Emran Abu Dheim passed away after being shot by the occupation forces under the pretext of attempting to carry out a run-over attack in the village of Al-Tur.
With the beginning of the popular uprising in October 2015, 20 Martyrs passed away in the city of Jerusalem including 5 Martyrs from the West Bank. They are: Mohannad Halabi who passed away after a stabbing and shooting attack in the Old City of Jerusalem resulting in the startup of the popular uprising, Basel Bassam Sider, Mohammad Nathmi Shamasneh, Mahmoud Khaled Ghneimat and Mutaz Qasem (all accused of stabbing attacks in the area of Damascus Gate, West Jerusalem and north of Jerusalem).
The Jerusalemite Martyrs were Fadi Alloun, Thaer Abu Ghazaleh, Ishaq Badran, Mohammad Saeed Mohammad Ali, Mustafa Khatib, Hasan Manasra, Ala’ Abu Jamal, Baha’ Mohammad Alayan, Ahmad Fathi Abu Sha’ban, Mutaz Aweisat and Ahmad Qneibi ( shot under the pretext of carrying out attacks); Wisam Faraj and Ahmad Salah passed away during clashes in Shu’fat refugee camp while Martyrs Huda Darwish and Nadim Shkeirat passed away due to the collective punishment policy (cement blocks) imposed in Jerusalem in which most of the Jerusalemite neighborhoods were closed and medical staff were unable to reach them.
In November 2015, 4 Jerusalemites passed and one person from Nablus passed away in Jerusalem. They are: Mohammad Abed Nimer, Hadil Wajih Awwad, Baseem Abdulrahman Salah (Nablus) and were accused of stabbing attacks while Martyrs Mahmoud Alayan and Ayman Sameeh Abbasi passed away during clashes; Alayan in Ramallah and Abbasi in Silwan.
In December 2015, 7 Palestinian Martyrs passed away in Jerusalem. They are Omar Yaser Iskafi, Abdel Muhsen Hassouneh, Mousab Mahmoud Ghazali and Mazen Arabyeh from Abu Dis; Izz Eddin Radad from Tulkarem; Mohammad Saleh Abu Habseh and Issa Yassin Assaf from Qalandia refugee camp; they were all accused of carrying out stabbing, run-over and shooting attacks.
The occupation authorities not only murdered Palestinian children and young men with cold blood, they also harassed their families. After revealing the identity of the Martyrs, the forces would raid his family’s house, conduct a search operation and damage the house contents followed by arresting his parents, brothers and sisters.
Despite the tough psychological situation they are already in after finding out that their son has been murdered. They are exposed to harsh interrogation in an attempt to get them to confess that they knew about their son’s intent to carry out an attack; they are also threatened and verbally abused and terrifies through several methods.
The forces also raided the houses of all Jerusalemites Martyrs (accused of attacks) and took pictures and measurements of their homes and threatened to demolish them and displace the residents. The occupation authorities handed the families of Martyrs Ala’ Abu Jamal and Baha’ Alayan ordered to demolish and seize their homes in Jabal Al-Mukabber; the Israeli Supreme Court ratified the orders.
The Supreme Court also decided to deport Nadia Abu Jamal, wife of Martyr Ghassan Abu Jamal, and her children (Walid 7, Salma 5 and Mohammad 4) from the city of Jerusalem after the judge ratified the Minister of Interior’s decision to deport the wife from the city and cancel the “reunion” application as part of the collective punishment imposed on Martyrs’ families.
Detaining Martyrs’ bodies
Part of the punishment imposed on Martyrs’ families, the occupation authorities continue to detain the bodies of 14 Palestinian Martyrs’ bodies based on a suggestion made by the Internal Security Minister, Gilad Ardan, not to release the bodies of Palestinian Martyrs who passed away while carrying or attempting to carry out attacks in order to “limit attacks against Israelis in the city of Jerusalem in particular as well as other areas” as he says. He also said that detaining the bodies will deteriorate others from carrying out similar attacks especially that releasing the bodies and carrying out special funerals and burying them in well-known cemeteries that will become a “shrine” afterwards only promotes the “attacking” ideas for others- according the occupation authorities’ claims. The body of Martyr Thaer Abu Ghazaleh who passed away on the 8th of October was the first to be detained.
Arresting 2297 people including 860 minors
The occupation forces increased their series of arrest in Jerusalem and arrested hundreds of Jerusalemites. Following an order from the Chief of Police, the occupation police formed a new unit to chase “stone and Molotov Cocktails throwers” which was specialized in arresting and interrogating Jerusalemites. The unit is based in Jabal Al-Mukabber police center “O’z” and has worked for two months in Jerusalem and carried out random arrests for those who have open files at the occupation authorities. Those detained would usually be released in the same day or after extending their arrest several times without filing any charges against them. Most young men were subjected to house-arrest and deportation from their homes for periods between 5 and 15 days.
Last year, the occupation authorities arrested 2297 Jerusalemites including 860 minors, 31 girls, 105 boys under the age of responsibility (between 7-12 years), 219 women and 69 students.
The months that witnessed the highest numbers of arrests were: October (480), November (268) followed by March (185).
In terms of the geographical distribution of arrest, it was as follows: Silwan (545), Old City of Jerusalem (440, Esawyeh (315), Al-Tur (202), Jabal Al-Mukabber (111), Beit Hanina (87), Shu’fat refugee camp and Anata and Dahyet Al-Salam (79), Wadi Al-Joz (67), Sur Baher and Um Tuba (67), Shu’fat (49), Al-Sowaneh (25), Kufor Aqab (20), Sheikh Jarrah (23), Beit Safafa (5) in addition to other arrests from the streets of Jerusalem and its village and Al-Aqsa gates.
Last year, 25 Palestinians who were shot by occupation forces or Israeli settlers were also arrested including two women, a girl, 9 boys, two young men who lost their eyes, two young men critically injured after being assaulted by settlers in “Ra’nana”. Despite their critical injuries, the occupation authorities detained them in Israeli hospitals and were monitored by the police; indictments were submitted against them and the judges extended their arrest several times in absentia.
The occupation authorities are also detained 12-year old Ali Ihab Alqam and 13-year old Ahmad Saleh Manasra in closed institutions “rehabilitation centers” o charges of stabbing settlers. According to the Israeli law, Alqam and Manasra are under the age of responsibility and cannot be arrested.
In conjunction with the random arrests against dozens of Jerusalemite children, the occupation’s prisons administration opened last year a new section for minor prisoners named “Giv’on” prison in the city of Al-Ramleh. It is a new prison that lacks the most basic necessities of life designated to harass Palestinian prisoners. Minor detainees are currently subject to bad treatment, beating, isolation and humiliation not to mention the bad food provided to them in terms of quality and quantity. After great pressure, the occupation authorities closed the prison and transferred the detainees to Megiddo and Hasharon prisons.
Administrative arrests
During 2015, 33 Jerusalemites including 4 minors were transferred to administrative arrest following an order from the Israeli Minister of Defense. In October, 11 Jerusalemites from the village of Esawyeh, 10 from Silwan, 4 from the Old City, 2 from each of Sur Baher and Jabal Al-Mukabber and Kufor Aqab, and one from Shu’fat and another from Shu’fat refugee camp were transferred to administrative arrest. The authorities have restored to this type of arrest based on intelligence information or testimonies by others or both combined but the evidence was weak and wasn’t enough to submit an indictment. If the indictment gets submitted, the judge will decide to acquit the detainee and release him; that’s why the administrative arrest law us used.
Demolishing 80 establishments…and displacing 122 Jerusalemites
The occupation authorities did not take a break from demolishing residential and commercial establishments in the city of Jerusalem during 2015 using the same old pretext of building without a permit. The municipality also forced Jerusalemites to self-demolish their homes after threatening to imprison them and impose high fine on them in addition to paying the demolition costs. On the other hand, the municipality did not give building permits to the residents of East Jerusalem through setting impossible rule for obtaining such permits.
The “demolition nightmare” is harassing thousands of Jerusalemites after demolition order were distributed among them.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored the demolition of 80 establishments where most of them were under construction and some were ready. The demolition were as follows: 8 residential building, 22 houses, a residential barracks, 5 barracks used for horses and sheep, 3 farms, two warehouses, 11 residential rooms and a storage, 4 walls, 10 commercial establishments, 3 houses’ foundations and a balcony, a water-well, a poultry farm. Also, two lands were swept and Jerusalemites had to self-demolish 7 establishments (5 residential houses, a room and a bathroom).
The occupation also displaced 122 Jerusalemites including 58 children in 2015 due to the demolition operations against residential establishments.
Among the establishments demolished were the family houses of Martyrs who passed away at the end of 2014 and were demolished using two methods (use of explosives of pouring concrete inside the house) as ordered by the Commander of Internal Front. The authorities closed the house of Martyr Odai Abu Jamal with concrete (built in 1936) and demolished the house of Martyur Ghassan Abu Jamal using explosives which resulted in demolishing his brother’s house as well. They also demolished the house of Mohammad Ja’abees using explosives and caused damages to his brother’s house Shaker. The house of Ibrahim Akari was also demolished using explosives and a room inside the family house of Martyr Mu’taz Hijazi was closed with concrete; the occupation displaced 36 individuals of the Martyrs’ families.
Last year, demolitions also occurred in Silwan, Jabal Al-Mukabber, Esawyeh, Wadi Al-Joz, Beit Hanina, Salah Eddin Street, Atarot, Sheikh Jarrah, Shu’fat refugee camp, Al-Tur and Sur Baher.
Settlers’ assaults
Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored the settlers’ assaults against Jerusalemites and their properties and pointed out that because of the lack of any restraint by the Israeli authorities the settlers’ assaults on Palestinians increased in recent years.
Settlers attempted at the beginning of the year to kidnap children in the village of Jabal Al-Mukabber including the child of Martyr Ghassan Abu Jamal and another child from the neighborhood of Al-Thori in Silwan.
The center also monitored the physical assaults against Jerusalemites including three cases of shooting (Shurouq Dwayyat who was critically injured), and another in Al-Bazar market in the Old City of Jerusalem and a third one in Silwan. There was also an attempt to shoot a woman in Jabal Al-Mukabber, two stabbing attempts in Jabal Al-Masharef and by David’s Gate in the Old City. Twenty Jerusalemites were assaulted with sticks and iron bars in West Jerusalem and inside settlements including two in “Ra’nana”. There were also 4 run-over carried out by settlers and one woman suffered a miscarriage after she was assaulted along with her family members. Several injuries were also recorded among Jerusalemites due to being assaulted by pepper gas in different parts in Jerusalem.
The center also monitored the assaults on religious places (Islamic and Christian). Parts of the Greek Orthodox School were set on fire in Mount Zion south of Jerusalem and slogans insulting Jesus and Christianity were written on its walls. Similar slogans were also written in three different places in Jerusalem.
Also, several cars were damaged in the village of Beit Safafa and one vehicle was set on fire in the village of Um Tuba.
Jerusalemite neighborhoods where settlers live suffer from daily provocations which usually escalate into verbal altercations or clashes using hands. Settlers’ guards also participate in assaulting Jerusalemites especially in Silwan, Old City of Jerusalem, Al-Tur and Al-Sowaneh.
Settlers tried to raid Silwan twice in October and were stationed at the entrance of the village and used stones and empty bottles to assaults the residents who confronted them.
Last year, settlers also organized marches under the slogan “Death to Arabs” in West Jerusalem and at the entrances of East Jerusalem and in the markets of the Old City in which they assaulted Jerusalemites’ properties.
In terms of the crime committed by settlers in July 2014 against the child Mohammad Hussein Abu Khdeir when they kidnapped and burned him, the case is still in discussion in the Israeli courts.
Violating the right to education
In terms of violations against the right to education and the level of discrimination against educational institutions in Jerusalem, the education problem in Jerusalem remained unsolved in 2015. The problems were represented in the lack of classrooms, not building new schools by the occupation’s municipality which forced the locals to enroll their children in schools far away from their residence.
The Israeli authorities escalated in 2015 their violations of the right to education by raiding schools and arresting students while heading to their schools. They were also deployed at the schools’ gates along with police dogs and deliberately sprayed schools with wastewater.
Perhaps the most schools affected during 2015 were Al-Aqsa Legitimacy Schools which include 500 students. These schools are located inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Education was also disrupted in “Dar Al-Aytam” school in the Old City as well as the schools of Al-Tur, Ras Al-Amoud and Jabal Al-Mukabber.
The center explained that during the break-in days and clashes, the occupation forces imposed restrictions on the entrance of students and conditioned them to enter through Al-Silsileh Gate only. Some female students were prevented from entering while males were only allowed to enter through Hutta Gate which became a daily procedure since the beginning of the school year. The police also detained several students and prevented them from going to their schools for no reason while others were assaulted and were subject to beating and arrest.
Education was disrupted at Al-Aqsa Schools on the 13th and 15th of September in Al-Aqsa Schools and on the 28th was disrupted in the kindergarten and boys school while the director of Dar Al-Aytam school was forced to stop the education process after the second class on the 15th of September after occupation forces ascended on the roofs adjacent to the school and randomly fired grenades and rubber bullets in the area.
The occupation authorities also prevented Al-Aqsa Schools from bringing-in books on the first days of school and the educational and administrative commission was forced to distribute the books outside Al-Aqsa gates.
Settlers and occupation forces broke into Al-Shamilah Boys School and the Girls Elementary School in the village of Al-Tur at the beginning of last year and one soldier fired live bullets while standing across from Al-Shamilah School at the same time when students were leaving. The forces also raided the Girls Basic School and Ibn Rush School in Al-Tur and arrested on student.
The forces deliberately fired sound grenades and rubber bullets towards Al-Tur Schools and once targeted “Princess Basma School for special needs” and assaulted the guards and two teachers. In another incident, a student at Al-Shamilah School was injured by shrapnel of a sound grenade that was fired inside the school’s courtyard when the students were at their sports class.
Israeli forces managed to deploy in the Schools’ Street in the neighborhood of Ras Al-Amoud in Silwan and provoked and searched students. They raided Ras Al-Amoud School and searched the entire classrooms and arrested one student from inside his classroom. Few days later, they raided the school again and arrested the same student from the school’s courtyard. Students of Ras Al-Amoud Schools suffered from the daily presence of occupation forces and checkpoints established in the Schools’ Street as well as targeting the schools with rubber bullets, sound grenades and tear-gas canisters which obstructed the educational process.
The forces also targeted several schools in Jabal Al-Mukabber and Esawyeh with grenades in addition to daily presence in the Schools’ Streets.
Occupation forces established checkpoints and placed cement blocks in the streets of Jabal Al-Mukabber, Al-Tur, Ras Al-Amoud, Al-Sowaneh and students were subjected to searching before and after school.
Health Institutions
Health institutions also had their share in terms of assaults in 2015. The forces raided Al-Maqased hospital 6 times during September, October and November. They raided the hospital’s departments looking people injured during clashes in Jerusalem. In another escalation, the forces raided the hospital looking for the file of patients (injured), and the intelligence had specific names they were looking for. They confiscated a computer and surveillance cameras from the hospital.
Al-Maqased hospital was targeted with wastewater, sound grenades, tear-gas canisters and rubber bullets in 2015. The forces raided the outside courtyard of the hospital and heavily fired sound grenades and rubber bullets towards the people resulting in suffocation cases for several patients and the people accompanying them; a woman in the children’s department returned a tear-gas canister outside the window resulting in burns in her hand.
The occupation authorities also threatened to open an investigation against the medical staff in Al-Maqased hospital under the pretext of “providing treatment to the youth who participated in clashes without informing the police”.
The forces also raided Augusta Victoria hospital in the village of Al-Tur and attempted to raid the Red Crescent hospital in the neighborhood of Al-Sowaneh. They also broke into “Baladna” medical center in the village of Esawyeh looking for files of injured people, and Ein Al-Lozeh center in Silwan in an attempt to seize the body of Martyr Ayman Abbasi.
The occupation forces targeted an ambulance of the Palestinians Red Crescent and arrested injured people from inside the ambulance under the threat of weapons. They also searched the staff and fired sound grenades and rubber bullets towards the ambulance not to mention obstructing the work of paramedics in terms of reaching the injured.
Six Palestinians lost their eyes
During last year, six Palestinians lost their eyes due to being targeted with rubber bullets. Three of them are from Shu’fat refugee camp (child Zakaria Julani, child Sami Amoudi and Nafez Dmeiri), Mohammad Burqan from Al-Thori in Silwan, Louai Faisal Obeid and Suleiman Tarwa from the village of Esawyeh.
Suppressing events in Jerusalem
The occupation forces deliberately harassed and suppressed Palestinian events and activities organized in the city of Jerusalem. They suppressed a peaceful protest that condemned closure of streets in the village of Al-Tur, and suppressed a celebration in Silwan after qualifying to the professional football league. The forces raided two events that were held to celebrate the release of prisons and suppressed them in addition to suppression the welcoming celebration of another freed prisons.
The forces suppressed an activity in Damascus Gate on the anniversary of “Earth Day”, a protest against the “Flags’ Dance “and against the so-called “unification of Jerusalem”, the carnival of “Jerusalem is Ours”, longest human series requesting the release of Martyrs’ bodies detained by Israeli authorities, marches in Sheikh Jarrah and other marches in Jabal Al-Mukabber requesting the release of Martyrs’ bodies.
During last year, the forces raided Mount of Olives club several time and confiscated cameras in one occasion; they also targeted the club with grenades several times and raided Silwan Club.
Deportations from Jerusalem
The occupation authorities issued last year military order to deport six Jerusalemites from the city of Jerusalem for periods between 5-6 months under the pretext of maintaining security and safety following a decision from the so-called Commander of Internal Region “Yoyel Satrik” according to articles 6, 108 and 109 under the emergency law of 1945 and for the importance to protect the state and the population’s safety as well as public order.
Deportation orders were issued against Anan Najib, Obada Najib, Mohammad Al-Razem “Mufalfel”, Samer Abu Eisheh and Hijazi Abu Sbeih; the deportation order against Daoud Al-Ghoul was renewed at the beginning of 2015. Abu Eisheh and Hijazi refused the orders and decided to strike inside the headquarters of the Red Cross in Jerusalem.
Press Crews
The occupation forces also targeted press crews while monitoring the events in the city of Jerusalem and injured many of them with bruises and wounds. They also raided the headquarters of “Pal Media” in Mount of Olives” and issued fines to several journalists and damaged their equipment while monitoring events in the city especially at Al-Aqsa gates.
A siege on Jerusalemite neighborhoods and village
Within the policy of collective punishment against Jerusalemites, the occupation authorities imposed a siege on the villages and neighborhoods of Jerusalem and closed the entrances with cement blocks and established checkpoints. They also distributed iron barriers in the main streets and roads as part of the collective punishment policy used against Jerusalemites after a decision was made by the Israeli Cabinet to close the Arab neighborhoods in response to the attacks in Jerusalem.
Jerusalemite villages and neighborhoods especially Esawyeh, Al-Tur, Sur Baher, Jabal Al-Mukabber and Silwan suffered from the closures and the residents will also be forced to look for alternative roads to avoid the heavy traffic which could also put them at risk due to the heavy deployment of occupation forces in the streets of Jerusalem. The checkpoints and cement blocks also delayed the civil defense staff, ambulances, medical staff and paramedics from responding to emergency cases in an appropriate time.
The residents also complained about being searched in a provocative way after they were stopped and had their IDs checked; the searching process also included females and children. Young men were forces to lift up their shirts and at time take off their shoes while women’s purses and bags were precisely searched.
Furthermore, the tax authorities, municipality, Ministry of Health and Nature and Parks authority harassed Jerusalemites in their livelihoods especially in the Old City of Jerusalem, Esawyeh, Silwan, Al-Tur and Jabal Al-Mukabber. A state of financial recession occurred in the neighborhoods of Jerusalem during the last quarter of the year and the forces deliberately raided commercial stores and searched them. They also checked the permits and licenses of commercial establishments and handed some of them evacuation notices in case they don’t obtain the necessary permits.
High fines were imposed on merchants for random reasons such as the presence of empty boxes outside the stores, smoking inside or at the stores’ gates, displaying merchandise outside the stores in addition to imposing fines on merchants because the stores’ signs do not meet required standards.
Settlements
Settlement organizations increased their activities during last year under complete protection and support from the Israeli government. Elad settlement organization seized a property owned by Al-Malhi family in March (three residential apartments), two lands (a 500-square meters land owned by Abbasi family and a 1200-square meters land owned by Sha’ban family) in the neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh in Silwan south of Al-Aqsa Mosque through “leaking” property and falsifying documents.
Last May, the settlement organization “Ateerat Cohanim” seized three residential apartments owned by Abu Nab family in the Middle Neighborhood in Silwan after they were sold to them by Ahmad, Mohammad and Naser Abu Nab. They also seized a residential building last August after buying it from its owner Jamal Sarhan. The building consists of 12 apartments divided on 5 floors and the settlers seized 4 floors as one tenant refused to leave his apartment. At the beginning of September, the settlement organization seized a house owned by the late Jihad Sarhan; it was also sold to them by Jamal Sarhan.
In October, Ateerat Cohanim also seized two houses for Sabri and Abdullah Abu Nab in the area of Batn Al-Hawa in Silwan under the pretext of ownership by Yemen Jews before 1948. They claimed that the houses used to be a Jewish synagogue. They seized the houses with the support of occupation forces after evacuating the residents (9 individuals).
The occupation authorities continued last year to expand settlements established on Palestinians’’ lands in Jerusalem. According to Israeli sources, 356 settlement units were built between January and September and were distributed as follows: 64 in Nabi Yaakov, 11 in Pisgat Zi’ev, 72 in Ramot, 208 in Har Homah and 9 units in other areas.
In conjunction with that, the occupation authorities are building the infrastructure for three projects in order to build 400 settlement units in Ramat Shlomo, 700 units in Ramot and 700 in Gilo; they are expected to be built in 2016.
In terms of construction bids to expand settlements, 583 bids were proposed. In April, a bid for building 41 units in Pisgat Zi’ev and 36 in Nabi Yaakov was proposed, and another bid to build 68 units in Pisgat Zi’ev was proposed in
July while a bid for 438 units in Ramat Shlomo was proposed last November.
Last year, a plan to build 93 settlement units in Gilo was ratified by the District Committee for Planning and Building in addition to another plan to build 900 units in Ramat Shlomo part of a 1500-unit project that was put on hold.
Last August, the occupation authorities started building “religious pools” near the settlement of Maale Ha-Zeitim established in the neighborhood of Ras Al-Amoud in Silwan south of Al-Aqsa Mosque funded by the “religious buildings” department in the occupation’s municipality. The land has been allocated for the use of settlers only despite that being classified for “public use”; the municipality funded the project with nearly 1.5 million NIS.
Ateerat Cohanim seeks to seize 5200 square meters from the lands of the Middle Neighborhood (area of Batn Al-Hawa) under the pretext of ownership by Yemen Jews since 1881. They divided the area into 6 sections where 30-35 residential buildings are established where more than 80 families consisting of nearly 436 individuals live. All the residents have been living in the neighborhood for many years after buying the lands and property from their previous owners with official documents. The organization handed judicial reports to several families living in those lands requesting them to evacuate.
The organization is also seeking to obtain building permits to build 3 settlement units in the neighborhood of Batn Al-Hawa in Silwan consisting of 4 floors.
In March of last year, the occupation authorities decided to confiscate 8200 square meters in the village of Esawyeh (eastern area) until 31/12/2017 for military purposes; the decision was made by the Commander of Occupation forces in the West Bank.
The occupation authorities (Nature and Parks authority and settlement organizations) continue to dig tunnels underneath Silwan and the Old City of Jerusalem which causes serious damages to commercial and residential establishments in the area. Recently, cracks were revealed in several establishments and collapses occurred.
