Day 105: Jerusalem during “Al-Aqsa Flood” Operation
On the 105th day of “Al-Aqsa Flood Operation,” the occupation authorities prevented thousands of worshipers from entering Al-Aqsa to perform Friday prayers, while the Ja’abis family self-demolished their house in Jabal Al-Mukabber, and raids and arrests continued in the city of Jerusalem.
Friday prayers... the denial of entry to Al-Aqsa continues
The measures taken in the city of Jerusalem and the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City prevented worshipers from reaching Al-Aqsa to perform Friday prayers, and the forces pursued worshipers in the streets of Jerusalem, to prevent prayers at the point closest to the mosque.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem explained that the police set up checkpoints and placed iron barriers in the nearby roads and neighborhoods leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and prevented access to Al-Aqsa freely and easily as worshipers were stopped, their identities and place of residence were checked, and some were searched while forced to stand against the walls.
The forces set up their checkpoints and deployed their forces in the alleys, roads, and gates of the Old City, at the gates of Al-Aqsa, and in the streets adjacent to the Jerusalem Wall, and in the Wadi Al-Joz and Ras Al-Amoud neighborhoods.
The Information Center reported from worshipers that police officers deployed in the streets of Jerusalem and at the gates of Al-Aqsa randomly stopped worshipers and prevented thousands from entering it.
The worshipers added: “Different police procedures, and whoever succeeds in reaching the Old City without being stopped and searched will be stopped at the gates of Al-Aqsa, forced to return, and forcibly removed.”
A fifty-year-old woman from the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood said: “The forces are deployed in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, as well as the Lions Gate road. I passed easily without any obstruction, and when I arrived at Lions Gate/the Old City, a female soldier stopped me and asked me, “Where are you from?” And when I answered her where I live, she prevented me from entering."
The woman added: “These measures continue on Fridays. Several times I was prevented from entering and prevented from praying at Al-Aqsa, as is the case today. I was able to do so on other days, and despite being prevented from praying there today, I will return to pray tomorrow.”
The forces attacked worshipers in several areas in Jerusalem. In the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, they were prevented from praying on the main street, and the worshipers were forced to move to an alley to pray at the closest point they were able to reach. In the Ras al-Amoud neighborhood, they were forced to pray on the side of the road only. In the Lions Gate area, worshipers performed prayers inside the Yusufiya cemetery.
15,000 worshipers performed Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa, and like every Friday since the beginning of the war, Al-Aqsa was empty of worshipers, while forces were deployed in its squares during prayer.
In the Damascus Gate area, the forces continue to prevent sitting in the entire area (the courtyard and the steps).
The Information Center staff monitored that hundreds of worshipers from the people of Jerusalem and the Palestinian 1948 lands were prevented from reaching Al-Aqsa to perform the dawn prayer. The worshipers explained that the forces prevented worshipers from entering through the gates of the Old City to perform the dawn prayer, forcing them to perform the dawn prayer inside the cemetery.
Self-demolition
In the village of Jabal Al-Mukabber, the Ja’abis family self-demolished their own house, by decision of the occupation municipality.
The Ja’abis family explained that the house was established 18 years ago, and the family tried over the past years to license it, until the municipality issued the final demolition decision about two weeks ago.
The family added that the municipality demanded that the family self-demolish it, otherwise its crews would do so and impose “demolition fees/for municipality crews, accompanying forces, and machinery.”
