February 2023…A Jerusalemite martyr…a campaign against prisoners and their families…arrests, demolition orders and deportations
The occupation authorities, with their various institutions, and the "alleged temple" groups, continued to carry out attacks and violations in the city of Jerusalem, during the month of February, as monitored by the Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem, in its monthly report.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem said that the occupation authorities and settlers continued their attacks on holy sites and Jerusalemites and their property in the city during the month of February, by storming Al-Aqsa Mosque and performing prayers, in addition to continuing the campaigns of arrests and demolitions, and issuing deportation orders.
A Jerusalemite martyr and continuing to detain the martyrs’ bodies
On 10/2/2023, the young man, Hussein Khaled Qaraqe’, was shot dead by settlers and the police, on the “Ramot settlement” street, under the pretext that he had carried out a run-over operation that led to the death and injury of settlers.
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), the body of the martyr Khairy Alqam and Wadi’ Abu Rammouz (since January 2023), and the body of martyr Hussein Qaraqe’ (since February 2023).
Al-Aqsa Mosque...Continuous incursions
Settler incursions into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque continued, during the daily morning and afternoon incursions, with the exception of Friday and Saturday, through the Dung Gate, whose keys have been controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem.
Thousands of settlers carried out their mass incursions into Al-Aqsa during the month of February, and many of them performed public and collective prayers in Al-Aqsa, specifically at the eastern region and at the two gates of Al-Qattaneen and Al-Silsileh, especially on the “Jewish New Year” amid calls by “alleged temple groups” to carry out incursions into Al-Aqsa.
Deportation orders
The occupation authorities continued to issue deportation orders, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored 33 deportation orders during the month of February, including: 13 deportation orders from Al-Aqsa, 11 from the Old City, 2 from the city of Jerusalem, 6 from the place of residence, and the decision to “impose house arrest” on a Jerusalemite.
The occupation authorities also issued more than 18 decisions to deport Palestinians from the streets of Jerusalem, "Damascus Gate, Salah al-Din, Herods Gate, and Sultan Suleiman." The occupation authorities deported more than 25 Palestinians from the various streets of the city.
A settler attacks a "church" and others on the streets of Jerusalem
At the beginning of last February, a settler stormed the Church of the Imprisonment of Christ in the Old City of Jerusalem, and destroyed one of the statues of Christ inside it, shouting, "I destroyed it," in addition to insulting words against Jesus Christ. The church guard, Majed Al-Risheq, managed to catch him immediately before he was able to complete the destruction of the rest of the contents.
At the end of February, dozens of settlers threw fireworks at a cafe in the center of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in addition to shouting and insulting Arabs. Dozens of settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles with stones on the street of Umm Tuba village, south of Jerusalem.
The "money and property" of the prisoners and their families are confiscated and seized
The attack on Jerusalemite prisoners, freed prisoners, and their families increased during the month of February, to implement the decision of the Minister of Army in the occupation government to "seize" the prisoners' money that was received from the Palestinian Authority, considering it a "reward and encouragement for operations and terrorism" - according to the decision - based on the so-called law of "Counterterrorism for 2016".
According to the decision, the prisoners' money or property will be seized at the value of the money imposed on him, until the amount imposed on each prisoner is paid in full.
The occupation forces implemented the decision of the Minister of the Army, by storming dozens of homes of Jerusalemite prisoners and freed prisoners in all Jerusalemite towns and neighborhoods, and during that they deliberately searched the houses thoroughly, and confiscated money "even if it did not exceed the amount of fifty shekels, in addition to piggy banks for children, toys, valuables, jewelry, gold and silver, confiscation of vehicles, and in addition to that, the occupation authorities seized the bank accounts of dozens of prisoners and their families without informing them.
The occupation authorities also sent dozens of families notices for seizing their funds which included the prisoner's name and the amount imposed on him, via text messages on the phone.
Continuous arrests
The occupation forces continued daily arrests from the city of Jerusalem during the month of February, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored 204 cases of arrest, including two children under the age of responsibility (less than 12 years), 64 boys, and 14 women.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center stated that among the detainees was the child Mohammad Basil Al-Zalbani, 13 years old, from Shu’fat refugee camp, who was arrested from inside a "public bus" at the camp checkpoint, and charged at the end of last February with "aggravated murder", where he carried out a stabbing operation inside a passenger bus, at the Shu’fat camp checkpoint while a border guard and a guard were examining the identities of the passengers. During that, the guard fired bullets at the scene, injuring the soldier, and his death was announced hours later - according to the indictment-, and the court judge decided to transfer the child Al-Zalbani from the al-Maskobyeh detention center to the internal institution in Yarka, in the Palestinian 1948 lands.
Last February, the forces arrested the 14-year-old Ja’far Mtour, after storming the Al-Qibli prayer hall in Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the pretext of "carrying out a stabbing attack against a settler in the Al-Silsileh Gate area."
The center added that among the detainees were members of the family of the martyr Hussein Qaraqe’, as the arrests were carried out after the announcement of the martyrdom of Hussein Qaraqe’ and his house was stormed in the village of Issawiya. Also, members of the family of the child Al-Zalbani were arrested.
Shooting and arrest
On 13/2/2023, the occupation forces fired massively at the young man, Rami Hamouda, while he was driving his vehicle in the Shu’fat refugee camp in Jerusalem. As a result, he was wounded by a bullet that hit him in the stomach and exited from his back. The forces arrested the wounded young man while he was bleeding and receiving treatment from inside the ambulance, after stopping it at the entrance to the town of Anata. The ambulance was detained for several minutes and the driver was forced to transfer the injured person to "Hadassah Ein Kerem" hospital, with an officer inside the ambulance who placed handcuffs on the injured young man, in addition to besieging the ambulance until it reached the hospital. After several sessions of extension on suspicion of “attempting to run over soldiers in the camp”, the court decided to release him on 26/2/2023, on the condition of house arrest for 10 days, and on a cash bail.
Demolition, closure and displacement of families
The occupation municipality continued to carry out demolitions and force Jerusalemites to "demolish their facilities with their own hands", under the pretext of building without a permit, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem monitored the demolition of 24 facilities, "10 of which were demolished by the hands of their owners", during last February.
The center added that among the houses that were demolished were the house of the father of the martyr Hussein Qaraqe’ and the house of his sister in the town of Al-Tur. The occupation authorities closed the two houses, two days after his martyrdom, “completely closing the doors and windows of the house”, and at the end of last month, the occupation authorities opened the two houses by a decision of the Shin Bet due to the psychological state of the martyr Qaraqe’.
The center explained that the facilities that were demolished last February included: houses, rooms, agricultural and commercial facilities, and they were concentrated in Silwan and Jabal al-Mukabber.
General strikes and confrontations
The city of Jerusalem witnessed strikes and confrontations, in protest against the tightening of Israeli restrictions and measures imposed on the city's residents.
On February 13th, the village of Jabal al-Mukabber witnessed violent confrontations during the demolition of the house of the Bashir family. The confrontations continued from the early morning hours until noon, and the forces fired live bullets, rubber bullets, and gas bombs intensively in the village, and dozens of injuries were recorded.
On February 19th, a general strike took place in Issawiya, Jabal Al-Mukabber, Al-Tur, Anata, and Shu’fat refugee camp. The streets and intersections were closed with burning tires and stones, and clashes broke out for several hours in protest against the harassment of the people of Shu’fat refugee camp and Anata at the military checkpoint, which included long and complex search procedures for pedestrians and vehicles at the checkpoint, beating women and students, forcing young men and boys to take off their clothes and shoes at the checkpoint, and also in protest against the policy of demolition and pursuing prisoners and freed prisoners.
On February 23rd, a comprehensive strike took place in the city of Jerusalem, denouncing the Nablus massacre. The towns, neighborhoods and villages witnessed sporadic confrontations, which continued until after midnight, with marches taking place in various areas and raising the Palestinian flag.
