Day 98: Jerusalem during “Al-Aqsa Flood” Operation
On the 98th day of “Al-Aqsa Flood Operation”, the siege of Al-Aqsa Mosque continued, the attacks on Jerusalemites continued, and the raids into towns and neighborhoods in Jerusalem also continued.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem explained that the occupation authorities, for the 14th consecutive Friday, continue to prevent worshipers from entering Al-Aqsa to perform Friday prayers.
He explained that the forces deployed their members since the morning hours in the streets of Jerusalem and the neighborhoods close to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and set up iron barriers at the gates of the mosque and the Old City, in addition to deployment in the city’s roads leading to Al-Aqsa.
The center added that the forces positioned themselves and set up barriers in the Ras al-Amoud area and the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, "one of the closest neighborhoods to Al-Aqsa."
The center added, according to what it monitored and reported from worshipers, that the forces stopped those arriving to Al-Aqsa, especially in the areas of Lions Gate, Damascus Gate and Herods Gate, and prevented hundreds from entering and continuing their walk towards the Old City or towards Al-Aqsa.
A 54-year-old worshiper, who was on his way with his two sons to Al-Aqsa, explained that the forces prevented them from entering the mosque through the Lions Gate, and asked them to return to their homes, under the pretext that entry is only for “residents of the Old City.”
He added: "Since the war, I have been able to enter Al-Aqsa 3 times only. There are no announced restrictions or age limits. The measures taken are according to the mood of the soldiers on the ground."
A young man from the town of Al-Tur explained that he was able to reach the Old City, without any stopping, but he was surprised that he was prevented from entering Al-Aqsa through 4 gates and said: “I tried through the Lions, Hutta, King Faisal, and the Council gates, but I was prevented from entering, and threatened with arrest.”
A woman from the Palestinian 1948 lands said: “The road is not easy, and entering Al-Aqsa requires willpower. Troops are everywhere in Jerusalem. We are trying from several gates. There is no consideration for our ages or health status, and even the rainy weather in Jerusalem did not prevent the forces from not allowing young men to enter Al-Aqsa.”
She added: "We are a group of men, women and the elderly. Not all of us were allowed to enter Al-Aqsa. Some were prevented and forcibly removed."
The center added that the forces suppressed worshipers in the Wadi al-Joz area with sound bombs, while attacking some in the Ras al-Amoud area and the “Yusufiya Cemetery - the road leading to the Lions Gate.”
The forces arrested two young men from the Ras al-Amoud neighborhood in Silwan.
As for the markets of the Old City and the roads leading to Al-Aqsa, they are almost empty of passers-by and shoppers due to the deployment of forces and permanent presence at the gates of the Old City and the restrictions imposed on entry: “checking identities, preventing some people, especially young men, from entering, subjecting young men to inspection.”
