Day 221: Jerusalem during “Al-Aqsa Flood” Operation
On the 221st day of "Al-Aqsa Flood Operation", the occupation authorities imposed their siege on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City in conjunction with the settlers’ raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque on the anniversary of the so-called “Independence Day,” the anniversary of the Nakba of the Palestinian people, the raids on towns and neighborhoods in the city of Jerusalem continued, and confrontations broke out in the Shu’fat refugee camp in Jerusalem.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem explained that the occupation forces were stationed at all the gates of the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and placed iron barriers on some of them and closed them, preventing worshipers from all age groups from entering the Old City and Al-Aqsa, and allowed only the people of the Old City to enter it, but prevented them from entering Al-Aqsa.
The center added that hundreds of worshipers - most of whom were residents of the Palestinian 1948 territories - were prevented from entering the entire Old City. The worshipers explained that they tried to enter through “Lions Gate, Herods Gate, Damascus Gate, Jaffa Gate, and New Gate,” and they were prevented for no reason. As for the worshipers who were able to enter the Old City, they were prevented from entering Al-Aqsa.
In the Damascus Gate area, the police, through loudspeakers, asked the worshipers to leave and evacuate the place, and threatened to suppress them several times. Most of them were women and elderly men. They sat on the steps of Damascus Gate to rest and wait for permission to enter and head to Al-Aqsa. The police also said that the closure will continue until 2 p.m.
The forces also assaulted, beat, and pushed a number of young men in the vicinity of the Old City and at its gates.
As for Al-Aqsa Mosque, hundreds of settlers stormed it on Tuesday to celebrate the so-called “Independence Day,” and 526 extremists stormed Al-Aqsa (423 during the morning period / 103 during the afternoon period).
The settlers raised 4 Israeli flags during the storming of Al-Aqsa, and they wrapped the flags around their bodies and prayed during that. The settlers also performed public and collective prayers in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa, and some of them laid down on the ground.
The police provided full protection to the settlers during the storming, raising flags and praying at Al-Aqsa.
Meanwhile, the forces imposed restrictions on the places where worshipers could sit in Al-Aqsa during the raids, and expelled some young men and women from it.
Immediately after the end of the morning raids, the forces stationed at the gates of the Old City and Al-Aqsa allowed entry to Al-Aqsa, noting that dozens of buses from cities and villages of the Palestinian 1948 territories came to Al-Aqsa on Tuesday.
The forces also continued to storm towns and neighborhoods in Jerusalem, and set up checkpoints in the city's streets.
In the evening hours, confrontations broke out at the Shu’fat refugee camp checkpoint, and the forces heavily fired gas bombs.
