Events of Al-Aqsa Mosque …Damascus Gate…and Sheikh Jarrah highlighted the Jerusalem events during the year 2021
The triangle of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Damascus Gate, and Sheikh Jarrah formed the events of 2021 in the city of Jerusalem, and those areas were the focus of most of the operations targeting the Jerusalemites, their lands and property.
Al-Aqsa has always been a fuse that ignites the most violent and cruel events, and an existing side whose disruption threatens the security and stability of the entire region. As for Damascus Gate, it emerged several years ago as a gate, not only for commercial and living purposes to the Old City, but as a point of confrontation and a side linked to the dignity and steadfastness of Jerusalemites, and heading north towards the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, the neighborhood that was wounded by the blade of settlement from east to west, was the third side and another fuse that could be ignited at any moment.
The events of the past year, from the ascension of the martyrs to the arrest and deportation of Jerusalemites, or the demolition or leaking of their properties, are no less important than the above-mentioned triangle, but it continues from the first day of the year until the last hour of it. Wadi Hilweh Information Center reflected in its report, through videos and pictures, all the events of the past year, which were as follows:
Martyrs in Jerusalem
The occupation authorities continued the killings of Palestinians in the city of Jerusalem, under the pretext of “attempts to carry out stabbing or shooting attacks, or possession of a knife, and carrying out run-over attacks.” Videos showed the killing of a number of martyrs and shooting them despite their injury, and the possibility to arrest without the need to kill them. The recordings also confirmed the prevention of Palestinian ambulance crews from reaching the site of the shooting and the wounded, in an attempt to provide initial treatment.
The rise of the martyrs was in the following order:
• 16/5/2021, Shaher Abu Khadija, from the town of Kufor Aqab, was martyred, after carrying out a run-over operation against the occupation soldiers stationed at the entrance to "Karam al-Jaouni", in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.
• 24/5/2021, the 17-year-old Zuhdi Al-Tawil, a high school student from Kufor Aqab, was martyred after carrying out a stabbing attack at the "light rail" station in Sheikh Jarrah (Street No. 1).
• 21/7/2021, Abdo Yousef Al-Khatib Al-Tamimi, 35 years old, was martyred inside the Al-Maskobyeh detention center in West Jerusalem, after he was arrested for several days on the grounds of traffic violations, and after receiving the body, signs of beating and assault appeared on several places on his body.
• 10/9/2021 Dr. Hazem Al-Julani, from the town of Beit Hanina, was martyred after carrying out a stabbing attack outside of Al-Majles Gate.
• 30/9/2021, Isra’ Khazimyeh, from the town of Qabatya in Jenin governorate, was martyred at Al-SilsilehGate from the outside.
• 17/11/2021 Omar Ibrahim Abu Asab, 16 years old, from the village of Issawiya, was shot dead by the occupation forces and a settler, in Al-Wad Street in the Old City of Jerusalem.
• 21/11/2021 The young man, Fadi Mahmoud Abu Shkheidem, 42 years old, from Shu’fat refugee camp, was killed after an armed clash in Al-Silsileh Road in the Old City of Jerusalem.
• 4/12/2021 The young man, Mohammad Shawkat Salimeh, 25 years old, from the city of Salfit, was shot dead outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.
Detaining the bodies of the Jerusalemite martyrs
The Information Center said that the occupation authorities continue to detain the bodies of the following Jerusalemite martyrs in refrigerators: the body of the martyr Musbah Abu Sbeih since October 2016, the body of the martyr Fadi Al-Qunbar since January 2017, the body of martyr Aziz Aweisat since May 2018, the two martyrs Shaher Abu Khadija and Zuhdi Al-Tawil since May 2021, the two martyrs Omar Abu Asab and Fadi Abu Shkheidem since November 2021.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
The occupation authorities turned the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque into a confrontation arena, and the “temple groups” escalated their storming of it, while the intensity of provocations escalated by holding prayers, biblical tours and raising the Israeli flag. The occupation authorities also continued to interfere with and obstruct the restoration work and to prosecute the employees of the Reconstruction Committee by summoning, arresting and deporting them.
In early 2021, an Israeli crew surveyed and photographed three-dimensionally in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, using special cameras and scanning machines, after storming it, guarded and escorted by officers and police personnel through the Dung Gate.
Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed violent confrontations during the months of May and June 2021 "during the days and nights of the month of Ramadan", in response to the calls of the "alleged temple groups" to storm Al-Aqsa and as a result of the occupation forces' attacks on worshipers.
The occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa 7 times during the months of May and June; In the month of May, the incursions to Al-Aqsa continued, especially during the evening and Al-Taraweeh prayers, or after the dawn prayer. The forces attacked the worshipers with "gas and sound bombs, rubber bullets, beatings with batons and pushing", to evict the worshipers, and hundreds of injuries were recorded, including serious injuries.
According to the documentation and follow-up of the Wadi Hilweh information center staff for injuries, dozens of them were in the head and face area, and several cases of direct eye injuries were recorded, as many young men lost their eyes.
As for the last week of Ramadan, " last May", on the eve of "calls for the groups of the alleged temple" to organize mass incursions on the so-called "Unification Day of Jerusalem", which is the anniversary of the occupation of the eastern part of the city according to the Hebrew calendar, thousands of Palestinians confronted the settlers by being stationed in Al-Aqsa, and they thwarted the attempts to storm it in the morning, “during the period of incursions,”. They also thwarted the “annual march of flags,” which is organized in the streets of Jerusalem.
Over the course of the month of Ramadan, the gates of Al-Aqsa from the outside, especially the Lions Gate, Hutta Gate, King Faisal Gate and Al-Majles Gate, witnessed attacks on worshipers while they were heading to Al-Aqsa. The forces also obstructed the entry of meals to fasting worshippers in Al-Aqsa, especially on “Lailat Al-Qader”. The forces also stormed Al-Aqsa on the 15th and 22nd of last April, and evicted those stationed inside it.
Returning to the beginning of the month of Ramadan - April 2021-, the occupation forces stormed the minarets of Al-Aqsa Mosque “Lions, Al-Silsileh, Al-Ghawanmeh, and Dung” by force, and cut the main speaker wires, coinciding with the time of the evening and Al-Taraweeh prayers, to secure the settlers’ celebrations in Al-Buraq Square. The calls to prayer for the Night and Al-Taraweeh prayers were raised using the internal speakers of Al-Aqsa Mosque only.
Two days before Eid al-Adha, on 18/7/2021, the occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa after dawn, evacuated the worshipers with bombs, rubber bullets and beatings, surrounded the young men inside the Al-Qibali prayer hall, closed its doors with chains, assaulted those present by spraying gas and bombs at them, and prevented entry to it with the exception of the Endowment employees and the elderly from dawn to the afternoon, while providing protection for the incursions and prayers of settlers in Al-Aqsa in memory of the so-called “destruction of the Temple.”
The occupation forces, with different teams, stormed the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque on 10/9/2021, during a sit-in organized after the end of Friday prayers in support of the prisoners. The forces carried out a tour in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa and executed arrests.
Extremist settlers' incursions into Al-Aqsa
In another development this year, the occupation court allowed settlers to perform "silent prayers" in Al-Aqsa during the incursion periods. The court's decision stated that Jewish prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque is a "legitimate act that cannot be criminalized."
At the end of 2021, the Internal Security Committee announced, during a session held in the Knesset with the Temple groups, that it would recommend monitoring and developing the work of the police in Al-Aqsa in favor of the Jewish presence there, through a special committee formed by the Knesset for this purpose. The committee also recommended to end the expulsion of Jewish intruders from Al-Aqsa, easing security checks on settlers, and calling for an increase in the periods of incursions to ease pressure on the Jewish groups that storm Al-Aqsa.
The settlers carried out daily incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque - with the exception of Friday and Saturday of each week - during two periods; in the morning and afternoon, through the Dung Gate, whose keys have been controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem. The number of intruders in 2021 reached 34,112 settlers, according to the statistics provided by the Islamic Endowment Department.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center stated that the months of September, July, November, August, March, and April recorded the highest number of settlers’ intrusion, due to the Jewish holidays, most notably the "Hebrew New Year, Sukkot, Kippur, Passover, the destruction of the Temple, and the lights festival." The settlers deliberately performed individual and collective public prayers during the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, with clear governmental and judicial support.
The "temple groups" announced the blowing of the trumpet during the storming of Al-Aqsa on the "Hebrew New Year's Day", while a group of settlers brought "palm fronds / the fruits of the Sukkot holiday" to Al-Aqsa and performed prayers, and the Israeli flag was raised twice in the mosque at the end of the Sukkot holiday, and Hanukkah candles were also lit in the mosque.
The occupation police continue to impose restrictions on worshipers’ entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque, by being stationed at its gates, erecting iron barriers, checking identities and detaining worshippers before allowing them to enter, in addition to evicting young men from Al-Aqsa during periods of incursions.
During 2021, the occupation authorities prevented West Bank residents from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially on Fridays, after arresting and detaining them at the gates of the Old City, and deporting them by buses and private vehicles to the military checkpoints set up at the entrances to the city.
Governor of Jerusalem
For the third year in a row, the occupation authorities continue to prosecute the Governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, with the renewal of intelligence and military decisions against him that began since he assumed his duties as governor of the city at the end of August 2018.
The Information Center said that the occupation renewed the decision of house arrest imposed on the governor in Silwan, "preventing him from leaving it", preventing him from entering the West Bank, preventing him from communicating with 51 Palestinian figures, the first of whom are President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh, field leaders and activists, and preventing him from doing any activities under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem, and the decision includes: collecting or distributing funds, excluding donation activities for the needy only, organizing organizational meetings, and holding seminars or meetings.
The decision to prevent him from entering the West Bank this year was renewed on the eve of the wedding of his only daughter, "Mona", as the intelligence summoned the governor a day before the wedding date, and after an investigation that lasted for hours, he received the decision to prevent entry to the West Bank, knowing that his daughter's wedding was in one of the halls in Ramallah, and after the renewal, the governor was forbidden to share his daughter's day of joy.
The Yusufiya Cemetery/ Martyrs Memorial
The occupation authorities, the "Municipality and Nature and Parks Authority", implemented their project in the land of the Martyrs' Memorial cemetery, which belongs to the Yusufiya cemetery, which is located a few meters from the Lions Gate and Bab al-Rahma cemetery.
The Occupation Court allowed the “occupation municipality and the Nature and Parks Authority” to carry out work inside the cemetery’s land, and rejected the appeal submitted by the Islamic Cemetery Care Committee, which demanded a halt to the work in the cemetery.
The Information Center stated that the occupation authorities renewed their attempt to transform the cemetery’s land into a garden last September by placing iron plates and dirt on the cemetery’s land, and returned to work at an accelerated pace in October, and carried out excavations and bulldozing in the cemetery’s land, placing dirt, grass and water sprinklers, and placing fences and wires around it, its entrances were closed and surveillance cameras were installed.
Last October, during excavation work in the cemetery, bones, skulls, jaws and teeth of the dead were exposed. Work stopped inside the cemetery’s land for several days as a result. The Cemetery Care Committee in Jerusalem submitted a request to the Magistrate’s Court to prevent excavation and exhumation of the graves of the dead in the land of the martyrs’ memorial. Several days later, the court rejected the request, so the occupation authorities returned to work on the cemetery's land at a faster pace until the project was completed on the ruins of the cemetery's land.
The occupation authorities expelled more than 20 Jerusalemites from the cemetery’s land for several days, including the head of the Islamic Graves Committee, Mustafa Abu Zahra, and members of the committee, and assaulted Jerusalemites that were trying to enter the cemetery to protect the graves of their family members.
During the court sessions on the land of the Martyrs Cemetery, documents confirmed that the land was allocated to be an Islamic cemetery since the days of the Jerusalem Municipality in the Jordanian era, it was confiscated by the Jerusalem Municipality for the purpose of allocating it as an expansion cemetery for the Yusufiya cemetery, where the Jerusalem Municipality handed over this land to the Department of Islamic Endowments, which in turn, was endowed as an Islamic endowment land, but after the 1967 war, Israel transformed the organization in the area so that this land was classified as green land.
Damascus Gate...the face of events in Jerusalem
Damascus Gate took the lead in events in Jerusalem in 2021, after iron barriers were placed on its stairs, to prevent Palestinians from sitting, being present, and meeting during the days of Ramadan. The courtyard of Damascus Gate turned into a battle field during the nights of Ramadan and spread to nearby streets, while the “Lyhava” extremist organization called to organize marches for settlers under the slogan "defending Jewish honor". Jerusalemites rose to defend the city, and thwarted the entry of dozens of settlers to Damascus Gate, despite the attacks they were subjected to from settlers as they attacked them and their property on the one hand, and the arrests, beatings and suppression of the occupation forces on the other hand.
The repression of Jerusalemites in the Damascus Gate area has continued over the past months, and the area witnessed more than 500 arrests, during protests against the ban on presence in Damascus Gate area, or in any other event, and the control room in Damascus Gate area has turned into rooms for abuse and suppression of Jerusalemites including boys, young men and women, who were thoroughly searched, shocked with electric shocks, forced to sit on the ground, kicked, hit with batons and helmets, and sprayed with pepper gas.
As for the march of flags, after it was scheduled at the beginning of May; it was canceled after the Jerusalemites confronted it and the resistance factions in Gaza warned to target the city of Jerusalem with missiles, which was the spark that ignited the devastating war on the Gaza Strip that ended on 21/5/2021.
On June 10, 2021, the extremist Knesset member Itamar Ben Gavir stormed the Damascus Gate area and held his press conference, raising the Israeli flag. The area witnessed clashes and several arrests to those who confronted the march.
A few days later, by a decision from the Bennett government, it was allowed to organize the "flags march", and Jerusalem was turned into a military barracks, by deploying the occupation forces with their various divisions in all the streets of Jerusalem, erecting barriers and checkpoints, and closing many streets and roads, and as soon as the march reached the Damascus Gate area, the settlers directed insults to the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, chanting racist slogans in addition to profanity movements, throwing bottles and spraying water and juice towards Jerusalemites and press crews, and Jerusalem witnessed confrontations in response to the "flags march."
Sheikh Jarrah ... an arena of confrontation in rejection of the decisions of displacement and eviction
Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood was an arena for confrontation and suppression of activities... Activities that showed local popular solidarity with the neighborhood's residents, and resonated globally and electronically.
The events and sit-ins began in the neighborhood at the beginning of last May, with the approaching date for implementing the eviction decisions that threaten dozens of its residents, under the pretext of “Jews’ ownership of the land.” The sits-ins were faced with assaults by the occupation forces and settlers and with pepper gas, stones and chairs thrown on dozens of fasting people before and during their breakfast in front of their homes in the neighborhood, it was followed by the storming of the extremist Knesset member Itamar Ben Gavir to the neighborhood and moving his office to be in front of the looted building of Al-Ghawi family.
Activities and demonstrations continued in the neighborhood in the following months, and the repression and arrests by the occupation forces continued as well.
The occupation authorities closed the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, by setting up checkpoints and barriers, especially the entrance to “Karam al-Jaouni” where the houses are threatened with eviction, to prevent solidarity activists from reaching the street and holding solidarity activities rejecting the eviction decisions.
Legally... The residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood unanimously rejected the settlement proposed by the Israeli Supreme Court, which suggested turning them into "protected tenants" of the "Nahalat Shimon" settlement association, which seeks to control the neighborhood.
The residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood are still awaiting the decision of the Israeli Supreme Court to decide the case.
In the western part of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, “Kabanyat Umm Haroun,” the situation is no different from its eastern part, as notifications of eviction and displacement against its residents continue under the pretext that the land belongs to the Jews.
And in the last month, the Jerusalem municipality took control of a plot of land of more than five dunoms at the entrance to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood "Karam al-Jaouni", owned by four Palestinian families, under the pretext of converting it for the public benefit.
Construction work continues, and the number of settlement units built on the ruins of the Shepherd Hotel in the neighborhood continues, and work is being done to convert the Mufti’s Palace into a synagogue, and opposite from it on the Mufti’s land, the municipality is working to transform the land into a public park, and a few meters away from that threatens to evict 36 dunoms that include homesand commercial facilities and the headquarters of the Arab Alumni Club, under the pretext of “public interest.”
Unprecedented arrests
Unprecedented arrests took place in the streets and neighborhoods of Jerusalem, especially during the months of last May and June, and the largest number of them were field arrests, during the confrontations of Al-Aqsa, Damascus Gate and Sheikh Jarrah. The arrests did not differentiate between an adult and a child, or between a male and a female.
The arrests were accompanied by beatings, preventing the injured from being treated, or referring them to treatment while they are under arrest, handcuffs, summons despite the injuries, in addition to pepper spraying and electric shocks, and abuse inside the control rooms in Damascus Gate area.
The arrests witnessed live bullets being fired several times, carried out by the undercover unit.
Among the detainees are the director of the Young Muslim Women School in Jerusalem and a number of employees, after the occupation forces stormed the school, searched it and intimidated its students on the first of September. At the end of the year, the forces stormed Al-Rawda Modern School in Sheikh Jarrah, and arrested its director and the social worker, and two sister students, and summoned a third student for investigation, under the pretext that a student carried out a stabbing attack on a settler in the neighborhood.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored 2,788 arrests during the past year, including "34 children" less than the age of responsibility/less than 12 years old, 707 minors, 136 females, including 26 minors.
The Center indicated that the highest months in which arrests were carried out in Jerusalem were May, June, and October.
Field arrests recorded a large percentage of arrest cases, from Jerusalem streets, Al-Aqsa Mosque and its roads, and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in addition to arrests from Jerusalem towns and neighborhoods after storming and searching homes or during confrontations in neighborhoods and various events. The highest numbers or arrests were recorded in Silwan, Issawiya, Al-Tur and the Old City of Jerusalem.
The occupation authorities transferred 34 Jerusalemites to administrative detention for periods ranging from 3 to 6 months. Some prisoners were renewed for administrative detention more than once, and the administrative detention decisions escalated during the months of May and June.
Among the detainees, the center monitored more than 30 cases of arrests of employees of the Islamic Endowment Department, "guards / custodians / reconstruction committee."
Among the detainees, 23 were students from inside their schools, or while they were heading to their schools in the morning or after leaving them.
Prisoners... endless punishments and prosecutions
The prisoners’ file is part of the events of 2021, as the occupation authorities continue the policy of punishment and abuse of prisoners and their families, while the month of September witnessed a breach of the security system as 6 prisoners breached the walls of Gilboa Prison until their arrest within two weeks.
The occupation authorities continue to pursue the freed Jerusalemite prisoners and their families, and the families of prisoners under arrest, with various decisions and penalties, such as imposing deportation, confiscating funds or withdrawing the right of residence in Jerusalem.
In October, the attorney general of the occupation government, Avichai Mandelblit, and Minister of Justice Gideon Sa’ar approved a decision to withdraw the identity of the released prisoner Salah Hammouri, on the pretext that he “poses a threat to the state and citizens, and is not loyal to Israel, and belongs to the Popular Front and is active in it.” Hammouri spent about 9 years in the prisons of the occupation, he was prevented from entering the West Bank, and in 2016 the occupation authorities deported his wife to France, and she and her child have been banned to this day from entering the country.
During 2021, the occupation authorities continued to implement the decision of the Minister of the Army in the occupation government, to cut off the salaries of Palestinian prisoners from Jerusalem on the pretext that “they receive monthly salaries from the Palestinian Authority, which encourages them to terrorism and to carry out operations,” according to his description. The occupation authorities stormed the houses of freed prisoners and detainees, and confiscated sums of money and gold from them, in addition to freezing their bank accounts.
As part of the policy of collective punishment against the released prisoners and prisoners, the occupation authorities cut off the right to “national health insurance” for more than 30 prisoners inside Israeli prisons and freed prisoners, including the wife of a Palestinian prisoner, and issued more than 50 travel bans for varying periods.
The occupation authorities imposed house arrest on 5 freed prisoners, decisions that oblige them to remain within their areas of residence, prevent them from moving within the city of Jerusalem and from freedom of movement, and specified paths and roads for them to take if they were forced to move to the West Bank or the Palestinian 1948 lands, and imposed house arrest on Ali Nasser Abu Khdeir in Shu’fat, Yacoub Abu Asab and Nasser al-Hidmi in al-Sowaneh neighborhood, Salim al-Jubeh in al-Thori neighborhood, and Majed al-Jubeh in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is noteworthy that Majed al-Jubeh and Salim al-Jubeh were arrested last October and remain under house arrest.
Suppression and banning of activities
The occupation authorities continued to suppress various activities in the city of Jerusalem, by a decision of the “Minister of Internal Security,” under the pretext of being sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, according to the “Law Implementation of the Middle Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Limiting Activities) 1994.”
In 2021, the ban extended to cultural, social, recreational, feminist, sports, and youth activities, most notably: the “Mother’s Day” exhibition and bazaar and the “Our Identity is Our Heritage” exhibition in memory of Women’s Day for the Women’s Center - Mount Olive Club. In the Old City, the “Our Village Marathon” was banned in the villages of Lifta and Qaluniya, the popular bazaar was banned in the Beit Hanina Association, the conferences of Jerusalem candidates for the Palestinian Legislative Council elections were prevented, an event to honor high school students in Issawiya was banned, an event for children was banned in the town of Beit Hanina, and a chess tournament in Al-Dar Hotel in Jerusalem was banned, a “Children’s Football Tournament” event in Burj Al-Laqlaq in the Old City of Jerusalem was banned, and a cultural entertainment event in Silwan, a “working dinner” for Al-Quds Bank was also banned.
Settlers' attacks
Settlers’ attacks on Jerusalemites and their property in the city of Jerusalem have increased dramatically during 2021, by targeting them with bullets, as injuries were recorded, including the injury of a young man with a bullet that entered his back and exited from his stomach, and a bullet that caused fractures to another young man, both of whom were from Shu’fat, and a bullet wound to the foot was recorded to a young man in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in addition to the settlers shooting at houses in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood in Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah.
A young man was also stabbed with knives while working in West Jerusalem, and a young man from Issawiya sustained fractures and bruises after dozens of settlers attacked him with stones and empty bottles while walking in the "French Hill" area in Jerusalem. Dozens of settlers attacked a young man from Wadi Al-Joz while working in the area of “Me’a Shearim” in West Jerusalem while he was driving his vehicle, after surrounding him and opening the vehicle doors trying to suffocate him. A boy from Shu’fat refugee camp was also injured in the face while he was inside his vehicle after settlers threw stones at him in Street No. 1.
A number of Jerusalemites were attacked with sharp tools, beatings, suffocation, and verbal abuse, including Mamdouh Zahdeh, Mohammad Abu Nab, Samir Mujahed, Raed al-Sayed, and the Mhalwes family while they were in their vehicle in Silwan. Several attacks by settlers on bus drivers belonging to Israeli companies were also recorded.
The settlers attacked the monks of the Armenian Patriarchate in the Old City, where one of the monks was injured in the eye, and the Roman Church monastery in the city of Jerusalem was attacked several times, by setting fire to one of its doors and carrying out acts of vandalism.
The settlers also attacked the vehicles of Jerusalemites in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, by smashing glass and vandalizing tires, in addition to erasing the slogans painted by the neighborhood's residents and in solidarity on the walls of the neighborhood homes "Karam al-Jaouni".
Deportations
The occupation authorities continued the policy of deporting dozens of Jerusalemites from Jerusalem, the Old City, and Al-Aqsa, and preventing them from entering the West Bank. The decisions targeted Palestinian officials, clerics, and activists, and the decisions were issued by “the Jerusalem police chief, the commander of the home front, or the occupation courts.
The periods of deportation ranged from two days to six months, and in most cases, they were handed over for several days and then renewed for several months. Among those deported from Al-Aqsa last year was the head of the Supreme Islamic Council and the preacher of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, and Deputy Director of the Islamic Endowments Sheikh Najeh Bkeirat.
The Wadi HilwehInformation Center/ Jerusalem monitored 519 deportation decisions: 357 from Al-Aqsa Mosque, 110 from the Old City of Jerusalem, 31 from Jerusalem, and 11 bans from entering West Bank cities.
The courts also issued deportation decisions from the place of residence of Jerusalemites, including the areas of Jabal Al-Mukabber, Al-Tur, Issawiya, Wadi Al-Joz, and Silwan, in addition to dozens of decisions to deport them from the place of detention, especially the “Streets of Jerusalem and Sheikh Jarrah.”
Demolitions
The occupation municipality continued its policy of demolishing facilities in the city of Jerusalem, “homes, commercial and agricultural facilities, foundations, fences, rooms and barracks,” under the pretext of building without a permit, at a time when the municipality imposes impossible conditions and huge amounts of licensing procedures.
The occupation municipality also forced the Jerusalemites to implement the demolition decisions themselves, "self-demolition", after threatening to impose heavy fines in addition to forcing them to pay demolition fees to the municipality's staff and the accompanying occupation forces.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center / Jerusalem, monitored 187 demolitions in the city of Jerusalem, including 115 facilities that were self-demolished by their owners. The residential facilities were the most targeted in the demolition process, as 123 residential facilities “houses, buildings, residential barracks, residential rooms, and a balcony were demolished.” Also, 29 commercial and warehouse facilities, 18 animal and agricultural facilities were demolished, in addition to demolishing and razing fences, a yard, and containers.
Schools were not spared from demolitions. In August of last year, the occupation forces demolished a “classroom of the Model Kindergarten” in the village of Beit Safafa, south of Jerusalem, affecting 100 male and female students, aged 3-5 years, and last July, bulldozers demolished Al-Mutanabbi School which is under construction in Shu’fat refugee camp in Jerusalem.
Leaking property
Silwan, which has been a target for years of settlement and Judaization, witnessed during the year 2021 the leakage of real estate properties for the “Ateret Cohanim and Elad” settlement associations, after they were sold by their owners.
In the month of April, three residential buildings and a plot of land were leaked in the Central Neighborhood of the town, and three other houses were leaked in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood in July, and in the following month an apartment was leaked which is located in an apartment building that was leaked earlier in the Central Neighborhood, and another house was also leaked in October.
