April 2024 in the city of Jerusalem
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem issued its report for April 2024, during which it monitored violations in the city of Jerusalem, by continuing to open fire, imposing restrictions on the entry of worshipers to Al-Aqsa, and in return allowing thousands of settlers to storm it, in addition to continuing arrests and deportation decisions.
Two operations... a run-over and a stabbing... a Turkish martyr in Jerusalem
30/4/2024: The Turkish man, Hassan Saklana, 34 years old, was shot dead by the occupation forces, after carrying out a stabbing operation.
A border guard member was stabbed in the area of Herods Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, and his body was detained.
22/4/2024: Two young Palestinian men, Hatem Al-Qawasmi and Mu’taz Abu Ghalmeh, carried out a run-over and a shooting attempt in west Jerusalem, which led to the injury of two settlers, and the forces arrested the two young men.
Al-Aqsa Mosque... persecution of those stationed in Al-Aqsa, restrictions on the entry of worshipers, and thousands of settlers storm it
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem explained that the beginning of last April coincided with the last ten days of Ramadan, during which the forces deliberately pursued those stationed in A-Aqsa that were performing I’tikaf; carrying out daily raids on their tents in Al-Aqsa, examining identities, searching private belongings and the contents of the tents, in addition to photographing their identities and conducting field investigations with them. The forces also confiscated some items from them, and throughout the days of I’tikaf, the forces carried out separate arrests of those performing I’tikaf, including those with “West Bank IDs”, under the pretext of entering Jerusalem illegally.”
The forces also stormed the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall twice, assaulted the worshipers, and carried out arrests from inside.
On the fifth and sixth of last April, a drone dropped gas bombs towards worshipers in the dawn hours, during a sit-in organized in support of the Gaza Strip and against genocide in the Strip, and suffocation cases were recorded among the fasting worshipers.
During the last days of the month of Ramadan, dozens of arrests were carried out at the gates of Al-Aqsa and from inside it, of young men, women, boys, children and foreigners.
The forces also stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first day of Eid al-Fiter, and arrested young men in the squares and conducted a field investigation with them.
As for the settlers’ incursions into Al-Aqsa, which are carried out daily through the Dung Gate - whose keys are controlled by the occupation authorities - with the exception of Friday and Saturday of every week, holidays and religious occasions, and the last ten days of the month of Ramadan, they returned after stopping for 16 days (the last ten days of the month of Ramadan and the days of Eid al-Fiter). Hundreds of settlers carried out major incursions into Al-Aqsa after calls published by “alleged temple groups and organizations” to intensify the incursions in response to the closure of Al-Aqsa, which was considered the longest closure compared to previous years.
During the last week of last April, the “Jewish Passover” week began, and with it began the violations in Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings, represented by the implementation of large-scale incursions into Al-Aqsa by settlers, led by rabbis and officials from the alleged Temple groups, and the performance of prayers publicly and collectively during the incursion. Restrictions were imposed on the entry of Muslim worshipers to Al-Aqsa by confiscating their ID cards, searching them, preventing young men and women from entering it, and asking them to return after “the end of the two incursion periods.”
Over the course of the days of the Jewish Passover, the occupation authorities transformed the Old City and the gates of Jerusalem into military barracks, with massive deployment at the gates of Al-Aqsa and the roads leading to it, placing iron barriers at some of the gates of Al-Aqsa, and the presence and positioning of forces in the vicinity of Al-Buraq Square, Al-Silsileh Gate Road, and Al-Wad Street, which is the settlers’ path for prayers in Al-Buraq Square,” and the closure of streets surrounding the Old City leading to Al-Buraq Square.
The forces also prevented the presence of the “Murabiteen” at the gates of Al-Aqsa and forced them to leave the entire Old City.
The settlers also stormed Al-Buraq Square and held prayers during Passover, and they stormed the Old City and conducted tours, prayers, and raised flags and slogans calling for the establishment of the “alleged temple.”
Over the course of the days of the raids on the Jewish Passover holiday (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, Monday), 4,345 extremists stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque.
After the end of the month of Ramadan, restrictions returned again on the entry of worshipers to Al-Aqsa Mosque. On the last two Fridays, April 19 and April 26, the occupation authorities prevented young men and boys between the ages of 13-45 from entering Al-Aqsa to perform Friday prayers, especially at the Lions Gate, and assaulted dozens of them by beating and pushing them.
The occupation authorities continued to deploy their special forces in Al-Aqsa squares on Fridays, and the forces deliberately were spread among the worshipers, and this procedure has taken place every Friday since October 7th. On the last Friday of April, the forces arrested young men praying inside the squares, checked their identities, and conducted field investigations with them.
Hundreds of arrests
Arrests continued in the city of Jerusalem during the month of April, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored 291 arrests of Palestinians and foreign Muslims, including “36 boys, 10 girls, and 116 were charged with “transporting or providing accommodation for the people of the West Bank.”
The charges brought against them were different, the most notable of which were: “incitement on social media sites and platforms, support and advocacy for a terrorist party, disturbing public order in Al-Aqsa, obstructing police work, and throwing or possessing fireworks.”
The campaign of arrests of Palestinians holding West Bank IDs continued in Jerusalem and at the checkpoints set up at its entrances, especially “Al-Z’ayem and Hizma”. During the month of April, the forces arrested more than 1,075 people under the pretext of “entering and residing in Jerusalem illegally.”
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem explained that, according to its monitoring and follow-up of the arrests, the arrests were concentrated during the period between April 3-7, from inside Al-Aqsa and at its gates, where 64 arrests were recorded.
During last April, the policy of “arresting or summoning freed prisoners” continued immediately upon their release after the end of their sentences, and they were re-released after hours of detention under conditions, most notably “deportation from Jerusalem or the place of residence, and preventing any celebrations.”
Meanwhile, the occupation authorities renewed the administrative detention of six Jerusalemite prisoners.
Deportations
During last April, deportation decisions escalated, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem monitored 62 deportation decisions that included “preventing entry into the Palestinian territories by deporting foreign Muslims from the airport, deportation from Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, the Old City, and the place of residence.”
Demolition and eviction decision
Demolition operations continued in the city of Jerusalem during the month of April, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem monitored 4 demolition operations, including the home of the family of the Jerusalemite martyr Khaled Muhtaseb, in the town of Beit Hanina, where concrete was poured inside parts of the house and then one of the rooms was blown up after planting explosives inside.
The martyr Muhtaseb died last October, after he carried out a shooting attack near the Salah al-Din Street police station in Jerusalem.
A Jerusalemite family also self-demolished its home in the village of Jabal Al-Mukabber, and two families from the village of Issawiya and the town of Silwan self-demolished their commercial facilities.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Magistrate Court issued a decision to evict members of the Diab family from three homes in “Karam Al-Jaouni,” in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem, in favor of the settlers, giving the families until 15/7/2024 to implement the eviction decision, with the possibility of objecting to it within 60 days.
The three Diab family homes are located within a plot of land of approximately 19 dunoms, which the settlement associations claim ownership of, and were able to register them in 1972.
