October 2016...Two Jerusalemite Martyrs...2933 settlers break into Al-Aqsa Mosque...arresting 262 Jerusalemites...demolishing 6 residential establishments
Wadi Hilweh Information Center issued its monthly report for October 2016 in which it monitored the Israeli violations in the city of Jerusalem during July 2016 as the Israeli authorities carried out series of arrests against Jerusalemites in the city in addition to the significant increase of random arrests and demolitions in the city.
The month of October witnessed the highest number of Jerusalemites arrested as well as the highest number of settlers who broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center explained that two young Jerusalemite men were shot by the occupation forces and passed away in October, and 262 others were arrested
Details
Jerusalemite Martyrs
In October, two Jerusalemites from Silwan passed away after being shot by the occupation forces. On the 9th of October, 40-year old Martyr Musbah Abu Sbeih carried out a shooting attack in three areas in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem. He opened fire towards the light rail station and a vehicle before exchanging fire with Special Forces that lead o his Martyrdom; two Israeli were killed in the attack (a policeman 30, and a female settler 60) and several others were injured.
On the 11th of October, 20-year old Ali Atef Shyoukhi passed away after being shot by the occupation forces during clashes in Silwan. Medical crews in the Palestinian Red Crescent and Nouran Institution confirmed that the occupation authorities prevented them from reaching Martyr Shyoukhi when he was injured in the pelvis area and remained bleeding for more than three hours which led to his Martyrdom.
Witnesses confirmed that Shyoukhi was able to walk for a short distance after the injury but couldn't keep on walking. At the first moments of the injury and while young men were trying to help him, occupation forces heavily fired rubber bullets and grenades towards them and them completely surrounded the area.
In order to prevent the occupation forces from detaining the Martyr's body, the locals of Silwan quickly proceeded with the funeral procedures immediately after announcing the Martyrdom of Ali Shyoukhi; he was buried in Al-Sawahreh Cemetery in the village of Jabal Al-Mukabber.
Detaining Martyrs' bodies
The occupation authorities continue to detain the bodies of two Jerusalemite Martyrs; Nasib Abu Meizar who passed away on 30/9/2016 at Qalandia checkpoint and Martyr Musbah Abu Sbeih.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Following calls made by the “Alleged Temple groups”, settlers organized group break-ins to Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of October which had three major Jewish holidays (Hebrew New Year, Kippur - Passover, and Sukkot).
The number of settlers who broke-in Al-Aqsa since the beginning of the year reached 2933 settlers. Break-in sessions were carried out through Dung Gate that is controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967. During Sukkot, 1611 settlers broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque in the morning and afternoon break-in sessions.
During break-ins, many settlers performed their religious rituals inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the presence of the police which condoned their actions while the guards of Al-Aqsa Mosque confronted the settlers amid continuous threats and provocations made against them by the settlers and policemen. The “Alleged Temple groups” confirmed that the number of settlers who broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holiday reached unprecedented levels.
Many settlers who broke into Al-Aqsa were dressed in religious clothes and some wore “candlestick medal” as a religious tool. Rabbis, young men and families with their children were among the settlers who broke into Al-Aqsa and Rabbis provided explanations about the “Alleged Temple” during a tour inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa; they were protected and supported by Israeli police and Special Forces.
In order to secure settlers’ break-ins, the Israeli police increased their presence at Al-Aqsa gates and obstructed the entrance of Muslim worshippers and detained the IDs of them before allowing them to enter.
Under the protection of Israeli police, settlers organized their religious prayers at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque and were holding Palm fronds. They also conducted prayers at Al-Buraq Wall and special marches in the Old City of Jerusalem and Silwan resulting in the closure of several streets in the city which obstructed traffic and prevented locals from freely moving.
Isolations from Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Jerusalem
The occupation authorities isolated in October 35 Jerusalemites from Al-Aqsa Mosque for various periods between two weeks and 4 months including one minor and 4 women (one of them works at Al-Aqsa clinics). Five Jerusalemites were deported from the Old City of Jerusalem including one minor and the director of Al-Aytam School for periods between two weeks and 45 days. They also deported the daughter of Martyr Musbah Abu Sbeih, Eman, from East Jerusalem for one month.
Arrests and targeting schools
The month of October witnessed the highest number of arrests since the beginning of the year as the Israeli authorities carried out wide campaigns of arrests against children and young men before the Jewish holidays in addition to a series of arrests after the Martyrdom of Musbah Abu Sbeih under the pretext of “filming the attack or supporting it”.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored the arrest of 262 Jerusalemites including 86 minors, 3 children under the age of 12, 9 females including the daughter of Martyr Musbah Abu Sbeih and 2 elderly including the father Martyr Musbah.
The geographical distribution of arrest was as follows: Old City of Jerusalem (81), Silwan (70), Al-Tur (22), Jabal Al-Mukabber and Sur Baher (3 each), Shu’fat (5), Shu’fat refugee camp (5), Beit Safafa (4), Al-Aqsa Mosque (7) including two guards and Sheikh Jarrah (8) in addition to several other arrests from the streets of the city.
The occupation forces targeted students in October by arresting them and requesting them for interrogation. They also arrested the Director of Education, Samir Jibreel, twice and the director of Dar Al-Aytam School, Mohammad Al-Atrash. They raided the school several times and also raided Silwan Secondary School in Ras Al-Amoud and requested its director for interrogation.
Wadi Hilweh Center monitored the arrest of 18 students last month in which 15 of them were from Dar Al-Aytam School and the rest were from the schools of Silwan; they were arrested while heading to their schools in the morning or after leaving them.
The occupation forces deliberately raided Dar Al-Aytam School and surrounded it several times especially on 10/10/2016 when they raided the school twice and raided it once again the following day and arrested the Director of Education, Samir Jibreel, and the school’s director, Mohammad Al-Atrash. They were transferred to Al-Qishleh police center for interrogation and Al-Atrash was released on condition of deportation from the Old City of Jerusalem for 45 days.
Interrogators held Samir Jibreel responsible for students throwing stones and empty bottles at the occupation soldiers. The police also threatened to close the school for one month if the incident occurs again in addition to legal responsibility and financial compensations he will have to pay; police individuals came to the school and checked classrooms and the windows.
At the end of October, the Israeli forces raided Silwan Secondary School and stormed into classrooms under the pretext of looking for a child who threw stones. The school’s director, Saleh Al-A’war, and the director of the elementary school, Samer Al-Ghoul, were requested for interrogation at Salah Eddin Street police station.
The Information center explained that since the beginning of the school-year in September, the occupation forces have been stationed in the Schools’ Street in Ras Al-Amoud and are always present at Al-Mahdadeh checkpoint where they stop students and vehicles and check their IDs. They harass students with random grenades and rubber bullets; note that 5 thousand students (ages 3-18) attend schools in the targeted area.
Demolitions
The occupation municipality continued demolishing residential establishments in Jerusalem under the pretext of building without a permit concurrently with raiding Jerusalemite neighborhoods and distributing demolition notices and administrative demolition orders. The center monitored the demolition of 6 residential establishments in the city of Jerusalem in addition to closing three commercial establishments owned by Abu Sbeih family in the village of Al-Ram following the Martyrdom of their son Musbah.
The occupation authorities demolished one building including 4 apartments and three houses and ordered a Jerusalemite local to self-demolish one room and other parts of his houses. As a result, 44 individuals including 26 children were displaced.
Following military orders, the occupation forces closed commercial establishments in the village of Al-Ram (a sweets shop and storage areas owned by the father of Martyr Musbah Abu Sbeih) and also closed Al-Rayan Press under the pretext of printing inciting banners.
The Nature and Parks authority demolished two graves in Al-Rahmeh Gate Cemetery adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and also damaged several tombstones under the pretext of building in a “seized” land.
The geographical distribution of the demolitions was as follows: One building in Silwan, 3 apartments in Beit Hanina, parts of a house in Jabal Al-Mukabber and another in the Old City of Jerusalem. Three commercial establishments were closed in the village of Al-Ram.
Harassing sports activities
The occupation authorities harassed last month Hilal Al-Quds Club and requested five of its members after a banner for Martyr Musbah Abu Sbeih was raised before a football match between Hilal Al-Quds and Hebron at Faisal Al-Husseini stadium. The banner said: "Hilal Al-Quds Club mourns (Al-Aqsa Lion) Martyr Musbah Abu Sbeih”; players and spectators stood one minute of silence before the start of the game. Furthermore, the Israeli Ministry of Education suspended the director of Esawyeh School and trainer of Hilal Al-Quds Club, Khader Obeid, for two weeks.
Harassing locals and assaulting them
Settlers assaulted 26-year old Mohammad Khalil Al-Razem from Silwan and stabbed him with a knife and beat him with batons while walking in "Bar Elan" Street in Jerusalem. A settler also assaulted 10-year old Qusai Jadallah and slapped him on his face in the neighborhood of Batn Al-Hawa in Silwan.
Collective punishment
The occupation authorities continued their collective punishment policy against Jerusalemites. Last month, they closed one of the main streets and entrances of the village of Jabal Al-Mukabber with cement blocks. They also targeted the village of Esawyeh in particular and raided its streets and neighborhoods on a daily basis and established checkpoints and ascended the roofs of high buildings. They also took pictures of young men and randomly used grenades and rubber bullets.
The authorities also targeted the family of Martyr Musbah Abu Sbeih by raiding the family's house in the village of Al-Ram as well as his house and his brother's house in Kufor Aqab. They took measurements, checked the walls and threatened to demolish them. They also closed the family's commercial stores in Al-Ram and arrested the Martyr's father and his three children as well as several family members.
Part of the collective punishment policy practiced against Martyrs' families, the forces arrested Mohammad Shyoukhi, twin-brother of Martyr Ali, one day after the Martyrdom of his brother and the prosecution submitted an indictment against him including charges of "incitement on Facebook".
