Day 22: Al-Aqsa Flood Operation in the city of Jerusalem
On the 22nd day of “Al-Aqsa Flood” Operation, Jerusalemite families implemented decisions to self-demolish their homes in Beit Hanina and the village of Sur Baher, while the occupation authorities continued the siege imposed on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City, in addition to campaigns of incursions and raids into neighborhoods and establishing checkpoints in the streets.
Demolition and displacement
The Nassar Al-Husseini family began implementing the decision to self-demolish their three homes in the Aqaba neighborhood in Beit Hanina, north of Jerusalem, under the pretext of building on a “green land” where construction is prohibited.
Khalil Nassar Al-Husseini, his brother Omar Al-Husseini, and his son Salah, began today to empty and demolish their homes, in order to avoid paying financial fines to the municipality “as a demolition fee for the municipal crews and vehicles” and the forces accompanying them.
Omar Al-Husseini explained that the houses have been in place since 2017, and 20 people live in them, most of them children, and they were built from “reinforced sheet”, after the demolition of the family’s homes in Jabal Al-Mukabber and Silwan, in recent years.
Omar pointed out that the municipality issued a decision to demolish the homes two years ago, and issued a building violation fine worth “50 thousand shekels,” and the decision was frozen at that time.
He added: "The municipality returned and issued the final demolition decision and gave us until the twenty-fifth of this month to implement the decision. During the last week, forces accompanied by the municipality stormed the place several times to force the family to implement the decision."
He added: "We are demolishing homes and emptying the contents. We are looking for a house to live in with our children, and I will not leave the city of Jerusalem."
He added that during the raid, the municipality demanded the demolition and bulldozing of the concrete floors surrounding the houses.
In the village of Sur Baher, the two brothers Hamza and Daoud Bkeirat implemented decisions to demolish “parts of their homes,” under the pretext of building without a permit.
Hamza explained that he and his brother had added “a room and its utilities” for each family’s home, 11 years ago. Two years ago, the municipality issued a demolition decision, and during the court sessions, a “building violation” amounting to 20 thousand shekels was imposed on them, and the demolition decision was frozen.
Bkeirat added that the municipality returned and issued the demolition decision 5 months ago, and the family went to court, which in turn issued a “decision freezing the demolition.” The family was surprised last Thursday by storming the house and informing them that the demolition would be carried out “Sunday morning,” so the family was forced to implement the decision and said: “We were forced to self-demolish the building and not with our own consent.”
A Siege on Al-Aqsa
The occupation forces continued their siege on Al-Aqsa Mosque, imposing restrictions on entry to it, for young men, women, boys, and even the elderly, by checking identities, physical searches, field investigations.
The forces also continued to be stationed at the gates of the Old City, establishing checkpoints at the gates and on the city’s roads, subjecting young men to physical searches, and field investigations. The forces impose restrictions at several times on young men’s entry into the Old City.
The forces also continue to storm towns and neighborhoods in the city of Jerusalem.
Confrontations broke out between young men and the occupation forces during the storming of Shu’fat refugee camp.
In the evening hours, the forces stormed the Bi’er Ayoub neighborhood in the town of Silwan and the village of Issawiya, and fired gas bombs randomly.
The forces stormed the Al-Sowaneh neighborhood, and after positioning themselves on its main street, they stormed the courtyards of several houses and ascended the roofs.
Arrests
Arrests continued in the city of Jerusalem during the past hours, and the center monitored:
1. Tamer Al-Tawil
2. Iyad Abu Sneineh
