September 2024 in the city of Jerusalem
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem issued its report for the month of September 2024, in which it monitored violations in the city of Jerusalem.
During September, serious violations continued in Al-Aqsa Mosque, as did arrest campaigns, demolitions, raids, shootings, and settler attacks.
Martyrs
The occupation forces continued to open fire at young men in the city of Jerusalem, under the pretext of "carrying out stabbing operations, or participating in confrontations." In the month of September, the forces shot a young man and a boy in Jerusalem.
• On 15/9/2024, Zayed Abu Sbeih, 33 years old, from "Araara al-Naqab", was martyred after being shot in the Damascus Gate area, after carrying out a stabbing operation.
• On 18/9/2024, the Jerusalemite boy Hani Majdi al-Kari, 16 years old, was martyred during the forces' storming of the Shu’fat refugee camp in Jerusalem.
Al-Aqsa Mosque: Violations that do not stop
Thousands of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of September, and the number of intruders exceeded 4,500 extremists, through the Dung Gate, whose keys have been controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem. The incursions take place during two periods, "morning and afternoon incursions", on a daily basis, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays of each week, religious occasions and holidays.
Several days during the month of September witnessed incursions in large numbers, especially at the beginning of the Hebrew month, when 514 extremists stormed Al-Aqsa on that day.
During the month of September, Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed a complete desecration, which included blowing the trumpet in the mosque, collective “prostration on the ground” “in the eastern area”, and dancing and singing circles in several areas of Al-Aqsa. Dozens of settlers also wore special prayer clothes and carried special religious books, or T-shirts with Israeli flags drawn on them and phrases calling for the demolition of Al-Aqsa and the construction of the alleged temple.
In late September, settlers formed dancing and singing circles and ate sweets, celebrating the successful assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in a raid on the southern suburb of Beirut.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem explained that since August 13, “since the so-called anniversary of the destruction of the temple”, “public and collective” prayers have been held daily during the incursions periods, under the guard of the occupation forces that accompany them and provide them with full protection, while imposing restrictions on the entry of Muslims to Al-Aqsa during the two periods of incursions.
Among the intruders, last September, was MK Moshe Feiglin, who performed the prayer with a group of settlers, and gave a speech in which he spoke about the war in Gaza and Lebanon, and stressed that this place, “a reference to Al-Aqsa,” is the most important for the Jews.
Meanwhile, restrictions on the entry of worshipers to Al-Aqsa continued on Fridays, represented by setting up checkpoints on the roads leading to Al-Aqsa and the forces being stationed at its gates, stopping and searching those coming to Al-Aqsa and checking their IDs, and preventing young men from entering, chasing them in the alleys of the Old City and forcibly removing them from it, and expelling them from the gates and thresholds of Al-Aqsa, to prevent them from praying at its gates.
Continuous Arrests
Last month, arrest campaigns continued in the city of Jerusalem, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center-Jerusalem monitored 193 arrests from the city of Jerusalem, including 117 arrests of Palestinians holding West Bank IDs, on the pretext of entering Jerusalem illegally.
In September, the occupation intelligence summoned the Governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, for investigation at the "Rooms 4" police station, and handed him a decision to "prevent him from entering the West Bank."
Ghaith has been banned from entering the West Bank for 6 years, and has been under house arrest in his home in the town of Silwan since August 2022, after the Israeli prosecution submitted an indictment that included "violating the decision to prevent him from entering the West Bank."
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem explained that since the governor of Jerusalem assumed his position in 2018, several restrictions have been imposed on him and are renewed immediately upon their expiration, the most prominent of which are "house arrest in his place of residence in Silwan, a travel ban, a ban on entering the West Bank, and a ban on participating in any event in Jerusalem.
At the beginning of last September, the occupation intelligence stormed the home of Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Council and Imam and preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, in the Al-Sowaneh neighborhood, and summoned him for immediate investigation at the "Rooms 4" police station in West Jerusalem. This investigation was a continuation of a previous investigation related to "the mourning of Ismail Haniyeh", the prayers during prayers and sermons, and the meaning of the word "jihad, prisoner".
It is noteworthy that Sheikh Sabri was expelled from Al-Aqsa last August for 6 months.
Demolition, displacement and closure
The occupation authorities continued their demolition operations in the city of Jerusalem during last September, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem monitored 25 "demolition and closure" operations, including 3 "commercial establishments" that were closed under the pretext of "employing workers with West Bank IDs without permits."
The center explained that the demolitions included: homes, commercial and agricultural establishments, and walls, in addition to bulldozing lands, and were concentrated in the Shu’fat refugee camp, Beit Hanina, Jabal Al-Mukabber, Sur Baher, and Beit Safafa.
Settler attacks
Settler attacks and provocations also continued, as armed settlers stormed the Al-Sowaneh neighborhood in Jerusalem at the end of last September, and pointed their weapons at those present in the area and the residents.
During the same period, settlers roamed the streets of Jerusalem and around the Old City, Silwan and Al-Tur chanting phrases such as "We eliminated Nasrallah... Nasrallah is dead", and carried a coffin indicating Nasrallah's death.
Dozens of settlers severely beat a young Jerusalemite man in the “Bnei Brak” area north of Tel Aviv, injuring him with multiple bruises and wounds.
Deportations
The occupation authorities continued to issue deportation decisions from “Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem, the Old City, and place of residence, and preventing entry to the West Bank", and the center monitored 16 deportation decisions during the month of September.
