Day 65: Al-Aqsa Flood Operation in the city of Jerusalem
On the 65th day of “Al-Aqsa Flood” Operation, dozens of settlers carried out their raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque “on the Third Day of Hanukkah,” amid the continuation of the siege on it, while the “demolition policies” in the city and the arrest campaigns continued.
197settlers carried out their raids into Al-Aqsa Mosque - 117 during the morning and 80 in the afternoon - on the third day of Hanukkah, under the protection of the occupation forces.
The settlers stormed Al-Aqsa through the Dung Gate, the keys of which have been controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem.
The settlers performed their prayers during the storming of Al-Aqsa, especially in the eastern region of Al-Aqsa, and some of them lit “holiday candles/3 candles” in reference to the third day of Hanukkah”, while guarded by the occupation forces.
The occupation authorities continue their siege of Al-Aqsa Mosque, for the tenth week in a row, preventing entry to it except for Islamic Endowments employees and the elderly, most of whom are “residents of the Old City.”
The forces continue to station themselves at the gates of Al-Aqsa, and set up barriers there.
The forces also continue to be stationed at the gates of the Old City, restricting those arriving there, by checking identities and conducting field inspections and investigations.
Demolition, demolition orders, and plans threatening to confiscate Dunoms of land
After the municipality crews placed announcements that it will confiscate more than 8 dunums of land in the town of Silwan, for the benefit of the project to build the cable car which will link the Old City and the old train station complex, and all the facilities necessary to operate and maintain the cable car.”
Lawyer Sami Arshid explained to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem, that according to the project, “there will be a temporary confiscation of some lands for a period of 8 years” until the completion of the project’s implementation, and there are large areas of land that will be “permanent confiscation,” as columns, cables, and foundations will be built on them.
He stressed that landowners and those affected can submit an objection to the confiscation “from the date of publication of the announcement and for a period of 60 days.”
The occupation municipality forced the Jerusalemite Abdul Rahman Bkeirat to demolish part of his house (an outdoor bathroom) and close a room under the pretext of building without a permit.
The occupation municipality notified 4 families in the Ras al-Amoud neighborhood in the town of Silwan, of the demolition of their residential building under the pretext of building without a permit.
Zuhair Ghaith (the building owner) explained that the municipality issued a final demolition decision for the family’s building, “consisting of two floors and 4 apartments,” pointing out that municipal crews stormed the building 3 times during the past few days, demanding the implementation of the demolition decision.
Ghaith added that the building has been in existence since 2016, and “building without a license” fines amounting to 800,000 shekels were imposed, and the family tried to obtain a building permit through teams of lawyers and engineers but to no avail.
He said: “We emptied the contents of the building, but we will not demolish it with our own hands. For years, we have been trying to license the building, but all attempts were rejected,” pointing out that the municipality stormed the building last Wednesday, and returned Thursday and demanded that the demolition be carried out before Saturday, and today it stormed the place and gave them until four o’clock to implement the decision.
36 people live in the apartments, including children, one of whom has special needs.
The raids on Jerusalem neighborhoods and towns continued, and separate arrests were carried out from the towns of: Al-Tur, Beit Hanina, and Silwan.
