Day 136: Jerusalem during “Al-Aqsa Flood” Operation
On the 136th day of "Al-Aqsa Flood Operation", the "Ateerat Cohanim" settlement association, took control of two and a half dunoms of land in the Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood in the town of Silwan, while the restrictions imposed on the worshipers' entry to Al-Aqsa continued, and the incursions into the towns and neighborhoods in Jerusalem also continued.
Confiscation
Dozens of settlers from the "Ateerat Cohanim" settlement association, accompanied by the Israeli occupation forces, broke into the Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood in the town of Silwan, and after deploying into the neighborhood's alleys and climbing the high roofs, the settlers broke into 3 adjacent pieces of the neighborhood's land, owned by the Rajabi, Abu Diab, and Silwadi families, and the families were forced to quickly remove some vehicles and contents from within the lands.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem explained, quoting Zuhair Rajabi, head of the Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood committee, that the settlers took control of the land under the pretext that it was Jewish property, confirming that the owner families have all the papers and documents confirming their ownership for tens or hundreds of years.
Rajabi explained that the settlers demolished "fences, roofed parking lots, stone-chains" on the land, in addition to razing the floors, and then placed reinforced metal, iron fences and barbed wire on all the confiscated land.
Rajabi pointed out that the pieces of land that were confiscated are used as parking lots for the residents of the neighborhood, and the residents are prohibited from building on them, as an old building that stood on a piece of the land was demolished, under the pretext of "building without a permit."
Rajabi added that the forces closed the entrances leading to the courtyard of the Rajabi family with tiles and panels and kept only one entrance for families to "exit or enter” from.
During the confiscation of the land, the Israeli occupation forces assaulted the members of the Rajabi family by beating, shoving and arresting them.
The "Ateerat Cohanim" association is trying to control 5200 square meters of the "Batn Al-Hawa" neighborhood, under the pretext that it has been owned by Jews from Yemen since 1881, and the association claims that the Israeli Supreme Court recognized the ownership of the settlers from Yemen to the land of Batn Al-Hawa.
Rajabi explained that 87 families in the Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood received eviction notices from their homes, and the prosecution began in 2015.
Al-Aqsa Mosque... continuous restrictions
The occupation authorities continue to impose restrictions on worshipers entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque, stopping them at the gates of Al-Aqsa, checking their identities, detaining them "before allowing them to enter", and randomly preventing them from entering Al-Aqsa, especially "the young men and women".
87 settlers carried out their incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Dung Gate, the keys of which have been controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem, and the settlers performed prayers during the incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Raids and distribution of notices
The Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by municipal staff, stormed the village of Issawiya, and posted demolition notices and summonses to follow up with the municipality, in addition to photographing the streets and buildings in the village.
Raids and arrests
The raids into the towns and neighborhoods of the city of Jerusalem continued, and the forces carried out various arrests from the city.
