July 2022 – Targeting the schools of Jerusalem…arrests and assaults
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem issued its monthly report for the month of July, during which it monitored the Israeli violations in the city of Jerusalem.
The center said that the occupation authorities continued to carry out arrests in the city, while the attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque continued, in terms of settlers' incursions and excavations below and around it.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
The incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque continued during the month of July, during the morning and afternoon incursions, which take place through the Dung Gate, whose keys have been controlled by the occupation since the occupation of Jerusalem, daily except for Friday and Saturday, holidays and religious occasions.
The settlers performed their public and collective prayers at Al-Aqsa several times during the month of July.
In early July, stones fell from the pillars of the old Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Aqsa Mosque without knowing the reasons, and the Islamic Endowments Department demanded the occupation police to allowa specialized technical team from the endowments to examine the excavations taking place in the vicinity of the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, but the police are still procrastinating, "according to what was mentioned by a statement from the endowments at the time.
Late last July, the “alleged temple groups” revealed a plan presented to the government, in which they demanded the expansion of the Dung Gate to increase the number of intruders into Al-Aqsa through it, by removing what remained of the historic Islamic mound (Dung Gate hill) and removing the wooden bridge connected to the Dung Gate from the middle Al-Buraq Square, which is built on the ruins of the dirt hill, and the construction of another large and wide fixed bridge in line with the size of the Jewish extremists’ incursions into the mosque. It also demanded an increase in the times of incursions into Al-Aqsa from 4 hours to 10 hours, extending to the afternoon hours, and during Jewish holidays until night.
Jerusalem schools in the targeting circle
At the end of last July, the Ministry of Education in the occupation government withdrew the license of 6 schools in the city of Jerusalem, for a period of one year, under the pretext of “incitement in textbooks against the occupation state and army.” The decision included the Ibrahimia School in Al-Sowaneh, and Al-Iman schools in all its branches in Beit Hanina in Jerusalem.
The ministry said in a statement that it would withdraw from the aforementioned schools the permanent work permit and replace it with a one-year temporary permit, and its renewal is conditional on amending the teaching curriculum and what it called "inciting content against the Israeli government and the army."
Shooting
Last July, the Palestinian Ismail Nimer was seriously wounded in the chest and thigh, under the pretext of stabbing a settler in the “Ramot” settlement in Jerusalem, as the shooter was an Israeli photojournalist who was at the scene.
The family of the martyr Fadi al-Qunbar…an assault and a threat
On July 7th, settlers, led by extremist Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir, assaulted members of the martyr's family, Fadi al-Qunbar, during a session in Deir Yassin court, regarding the revocation of residency permits for 11 people from the martyr's family. The settlers threatened and insulted the family members, inside the courtroom and its corridors, and detained them inside the court elevator.
Silwan…Batn al-Hawa neighborhood, daily confrontation with settlers and their guards
Several times during the month of July, the settlers, their guards, and the occupation forces attacked residents of the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan, beating and arresting them, firing live bullets and gas bombs at homes, and attacking residents’ vehicles by smashing glass, mirrors, and doors, during which several injuries were recorded, especially cases of suffocation, shrapnel from bombs, in addition to cases of fear among children.
128 arrests
The occupation forces continued to carry out arrests from the city of Jerusalem, where the Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored 128 arrests, including 23 minors, a woman, and a child "less than the age of responsibility / less than 12 years old."
The information center explained that about 25 arrests took place at the end of last July alone, in conjunction with the announcement of the results of high school “Tawjihi” and during the celebration of the parents. The arrests were concentrated in Shu’fat, Beit Hanina, Al-Tur, Shu’fat refugee camp, Sheikh Jarrah, and Jabal Al-Mukabber. Among the detainees are 3 high school students from Shu’fat.
The occupation authorities renewed administrative detention decisions for 4 Jerusalemites, including MP Ahmed Atoun, whose administrative detention was renewed for the second time in a row.
The occupation intelligence handed the lawyer of the Secretary of the Fatah movement in Jerusalem Shadi Mtour a decision banning him from entering the West Bank for a period of 6 months, “a decision that is renewed for the fourth time in a row.” He is prohibited from moving inside the city of Jerusalem except for the towns of Shu’fat and Beit Hanina, and he is also prohibited from participating in any event or activity in the city.
Also, during the month of July, 8 deportation decisions were issued for citizens, including “6 from Al-Aqsa Mosque, 2 from the Old City.” The Center also monitored 17 deportation decisions from Damascus Gate area.
Demolition and bulldozing
The occupation municipality forced a Jerusalemite from the village of Sur Baher to self-demolish his house under the pretext of “building without a permit”, while the mechanisms of the “Ministry of Interior and Municipality” swept the southeastern lands of the village of Issawiya, and began a bulldozing operation in the area.
