January 2023 in the city of Jerusalem
The beginning of the year 2023 in the city of Jerusalem...there is no difference of opinion that it is one of the most difficult months that the city had witnessed, and with an Israeli government considered the most right-wing and extremist taking the initiative to further restrict Jerusalemites and impose a new policy in the city, the first month passed with the escalation of "retaliatory" measures against Jerusalemites, where three of them were killed and seriously injured by bullets, the Minister of National Security stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the arrests and attacks of settlers continued, and the retaliatory demolitions that take place by a political, non-judicial decision also continued.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem monitored the attacks and violations in the city of Jerusalem by the occupation forces and settlers during the month of January 2023:
Martyrs shot by the occupation
In less than two days and at the end of last January, three Jerusalemites were martyred in the city of Jerusalem, during confrontations and operations in the city, while the occupation is holding their bodies and continues to impose measures against their families.
25/1/2023 The boy Mohammad Mohammad Ali, 16 years old, died after he was shot in the chest, during clashes with the occupation forces in Shu’fat refugee camp, and as soon as he was injured and fell on the ground, the soldiers attacked him and searched him physically, and at first prevented the people from reaching him, then he was transferred to the health center and then to Hadassah Hospital “Issawiya” by an ambulance with the presence and escort of the occupation forces, until his death was announced.
27/1/2023 Khairy Musa Alqam, 21 years old, from Silwan, was shot dead by the occupation soldiers, after carrying out a “shooting” operation inside the “Nabi Yacoub” settlement, north of Jerusalem, which killed 7 settlers and injured others with various injures.
27/1/2023 The boy Wadi’ Aziz Abu Rammouz, from the town of Silwan, was martyred two days after he was injured during clashes in the town of Silwan. The boy Abu Rammouz was targeted with an explosive bullet in the abdomen, which caused severe bleeding. He underwent 4 surgeries in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but complications of the injury led to his death.
The information center said that the occupation authorities continue to detain the bodies of thirteen Jerusalemite martyrs in refrigerators: the body of the martyr Mesbah Abu Sbeih (since October 2016), the body of the martyr Fadi al-Qunbar (since January 2017), the body of the martyr Aziz Aweisat (since May 2018), and the two martyrs Shaher Abu Khadija and Zuhdi al-Tawil (since May 2021), the martyr Fadi Abu Shkheidem (since November 2021), the martyr Karim Jamal al-Qawasmi (since March 2022), the body of martyr Mohammad Abu Jom’a (since September 2022), the body of martyr Uday Al-Tamimi (since October 2022), the body of Amer Hussam Halabiya (since November 2022), and the bodies of martyrs Mohammad Mohammad Ali, Khairy Alqam and Wadi’ Abu Rammouz )since January 2023).
Serious injuries under arrest
During the month of January, several cases of bullet use were recorded in the city of Jerusalem, in Silwan, Shu’fat refugee camp, Issawiya, and Jabal Al-Mukabber. Injuries were recorded for the following:
25/1/2023 The boy Mohammad Badran was wounded by a bullet after being targeted in the town of Silwan, and he was then accompanied by the martyr Wadi’ Abu Rammouz.
28/1/2023 The boy Mahmoud Mohammad Aleiwat, 13 years old, from the town of Silwan, was seriously wounded by settlers’ bullets, after he carried out a “shooting” operation on Wadi Hilweh Street in the town. Immediately after his injury, the forces searched him, stripped him of his clothes, and subjected him to interrogation during the examinations as well as while he was in the ambulance. He is still under arrest in the hospital, in a difficult but stable health condition.
"Reprisal" measures and attacks against the families of the perpetrators
In a dangerous precedent by targeting the families of Jerusalemites who carry out operations, the occupation forces imposed control over the homes of the Alqam and Aleiwat families in the town of Silwan, and turned them into military barracks, and denied access to them after expelling their members. One day after Khairy Alqam carried out the shooting, the forces closed his family’s house by a decision of the Political and Security Council, while the government decided to close the family house of the boy, Aleiwat.
In the session of the occupation government, the judicial advisor to the government said that this is considered a precedent for closing the house of the perpetrator of an operation that led to the injury of "Israelis without killing", "referring to Aleiwat's house," stressing that he is working on taking new measures against the perpetrators of operations in which there are no deaths.
Not only that, but arrests and summons of members of the Alqam and Aleiwat families were executed, in addition to mass arrests of more than 17 young men from the Alqam family home, "some of them were turned to the cells," in addition to summons for many of them, including his father, while his mother was arrested and released after several days.
As for the family of the boy Aleiwat, the parents are in prison and his brother is under investigation in the cells since the 28th of last month.
The occupation forces prevented the establishment of a funeral home for the martyr Alqam in the Ras al-Amoud neighborhood near his house, and in the Shu’fat refugee camp. The forces stormed the camp and confiscated pictures, banners, and flags.
As for the house of the martyr Wadi’ Abu Rammouz, the forces stormed the mourning tent "two days after his martyrdom" and destroyed it. They also confiscated pictures of the martyr, flags and banners.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Settler incursions into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque continued during the morning and afternoon daily incursions, with the exception of Friday and Saturday. The incursions took place through the Dung Gate, whose keys have been controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem.
On the third of last january, the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gavir, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in the early morning hours, marking the beginning of the "tenth fast of Tevet" according to the Hebrew calendar. Ben Gavir said after the raid: "Our government will not give in to threats of Hamas. The Temple Mount is the most important place for the Jewish people.”
On the 23rd of last month, 309 extremists stormed Al-Aqsa in successive groups, on the occasion of the "Jewish New Year", and two settlers raised the Israeli flag while they were in Al-Aqsa and sang the "national anthem" and racist chants, while another group performed collective prostration in Al-Aqsa Near Al-Qattaneen Gate, in addition to performing collective public rituals on the eastern side.
On the same day, the Knesset member Yitzhak Crozier, accompanied by his father, Rabbi Yehuda Crozier and his mother, and Rabbi Samson Alboim, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing the importance of carrying out and participating in the raids at the beginning of every Hebrew month, describing it as an "important pilgrimage day."
Dozens of officers and intelligence personnel also stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Preventing the entry of the Jordanian ambassador to Al-Aqsa
On the thirteenth of last month, the occupation police intercepted the Jordanian ambassador, Ghassan Al-Majali, while he was entering Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Lions Gate, under the pretext that he did not obtain prior permission to enter the mosque. The forces stopped him and prevented him from entering, and also assaulted the young men with pushing, while the Jordanian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador in Amman and handed him a letter protesting what happened at Al-Aqsa.
Settler attacks against Muslims and Christians
Settler attacks on Jerusalemites and their property did not stop during the month of January. At the beginning of the month, two settlers destroyed tombstones and crosses of more than 30 graves in the Protestant cemetery (the joint of the Evangelical and Lutheran churches) in Jerusalem.
In the middle of the month, the settlers wrote racist slogans on the walls of the Armenian Patriarchate in the Old City, and the phrases death to the Armenians, death to the Christians, death to the Arabs and non-Jews nations, revenge, and a few meters away from it, the settlers wrote on one of the graves in the "Dajani" cemetery, “Death to Arabs”.
At the end of last month, settlers attacked Armenian citizens near the Patriarchate in the Old City, with pepper gas and racist slogans calling on them to leave the country. The settlers also tried to climb to the roof of the Patriarchate and remove the flags of the Patriarchate and the Republic of Armenia.
The settlers also carried out several attacks against Jerusalemites, insulting them, attempting to beat them, persecuting them, and threatening them, especially in the towns of Silwan, Shu’fat, and Beit Hanina.
On the other hand, the settlement associations, the municipality, and the Nature and Parks Authority continue to work inside the “Al-Hamra Land” and a nearby land adjacent to the Ain Silwan Mosque, where work is underway on more than 7 dunums, and stone chains are being built and an electronic gate is set, in addition to the process of bulldozing and cutting dozens of fruit trees.
The settlers replaced the iron columns attached to the wall surrounding "Ain Silwan" with an electronic gate, to be used as a passage to Ain Silwan and the tunnels below the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood.
Arrests
The occupation authorities continued the campaigns of arrests from the city of Jerusalem, especially the field ones, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored, in its monthly report for last January, 255 cases of arrest, including 11 children “less than the generation of responsibility / less than 12 years”, 71 minors, and 5 females.
The center stated that among the detainees were 21 minors, between the ages of 13-14 years only.
During the month of January, the occupation authorities escalated the arrests of school students "during their way to their schools or after the end of their school hours." The center monitored 14 cases of arrest of students in Silwan, the Old City, and Al-Tur.
The center stated that the arrests were concentrated in the town of Silwan, with 86 arrests recorded, 27 arrests from Sur Baher, 25 arrests from Issawiya, 33 arrests from the streets of Jerusalem, 22 arrests from the Old City, in addition to arrests from most towns and neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center pointed out that among the charges brought against the detainees was the suspicion of "incitement to Tik Tok", "putting pictures of martyrs on their phones", "putting a chain bearing a picture of a martyr", "tearing up the Israeli flag and urinating on it."
The center added that dozens of arrests of minors were carried out, and they concentrated during the first half of last month.
The occupation intelligence continued to arrest the freed prisoners immediately after their release after the end of their sentences to impose conditions on them, most notably not holding celebrations and raising the Palestinian flags, as the center monitored 3 cases of arrest of freed prisoners.
The occupation authorities transferred 3 Jerusalemites to administrative detention.
The head of the Supreme Islamic Commission, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, was summoned for immediate interrogation after his house was stormed. He was released after several hours, as the interrogation focused on the suspicion of "supporting martyrdom operations by visiting the homes of martyrs' families and inciting violence."
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center stated that the occupation authorities formed a "special unit" at the end of January to follow up on arrests in the city of Jerusalem, and its location is in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Deportations
The occupation authorities continued to issue deportation decisions, as the center monitored 37 decisions, including deportation decisions from the Old City, Al-Aqsa Mosque, deportation from the place of residence, deportation from the streets of Jerusalem, and a ban on entering the West Bank.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center indicated that minors were targeted with deportation decisions from the "Old City and Al-Aqsa", where 10 deportation decisions were recorded against Jerusalemite boys.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center stated that the occupation intelligence forces stormed the house of the Governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, and handed him a "renewal of the ban on entering the West Bank" for the fifth year in a row.
The governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, has been placed under house arrest in his home in Silwan, since last August, after the Israeli prosecution submitted an indictment that included "17 violations of the decision to prevent him from entering the West Bank since the moment the decision was issued."
Since the Governor of Jerusalem took office in 2018, the occupation authorities have pursued him with repeated arrests, which amounted to about 35 arrests, raids on his house and summonses, and imposed several restrictions on him, most notably “house arrest in his place of residence in Silwan, travel bans, entry bans to the West Bank, and a ban on participating in any event in Jerusalem.”
Continuous demolition
The occupation authorities escalated the demolition process in the city of Jerusalem during the month of January, and the center monitored 27 demolitions in the city, 8 cases of self-demolition that were "demolished by their owners in order to avoid paying fines."
The demolitions were carried out in several towns and neighborhoods: Anata, Shu’fat refugee camp, Silwan, Jabal al-Mukabber, Beit Hanina, Beit Safafa, and the Old City of Jerusalem. Among the facilities are 15 houses, a two-storey residential under-construction building, in addition to commercial facilities and walls.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center stated that among the demolitions and closures was the house of the martyr Uday al-Tamimi, whose internal walls were demolished and closed. The house is located within a residential building, and the house of the martyr Khairy Alqam, which was closed and is still under siege.
The Minister of Internal Security, Itamar Ben Gavir, issued instructions, in coordination with the occupation municipality in Jerusalem, to carry out demolitions of unauthorized buildings in the city, which are estimated at thousands in various neighborhoods of the city.
At the end of January, a comprehensive strike took place in the village of Jabal al-Mukabber, including “schools, workers, bakeries, restaurants, and shops,” rejecting the demolition decisions and threatening to implement them. The residents of the village closed the streets and entrances to the village with stones and wood, and poured oil in the street to prevent bulldozers from storming the village. Clashes broke out for several hours with the occupation forces.
The occupation municipality took control of a piece of land in the village of Issawiya, that is owned by Ali Derbas, under the pretext of "public benefit."
Preventing a meeting
The occupation intelligence, by a decision of the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gavir, prevented a meeting of the students’ parents’ committees in the city of Jerusalem. The forces, accompanied by the intelligence services, stormed the place, handed summons to many of the participants, and prevented its organization under the pretext of being "sponsored by the Palestinian Authority."
