Day 408 Jerusalem during “Al-Aqsa Flood” Operation
On the 408th day of "Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, settlers seized a property in the Al-Musrara area in Jerusalem, and hundreds of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the forces arrested 6 Jerusalemites.
Seizure of a Café
Settlers seized the property of the "Al-Musrara Café" in the Al-Musrara area opposite of Damascus Gate in the city of Jerusalem, under the pretext that it was "owned by the Custodian of Absentee Property".
The occupation forces, accompanied by settlers, stormed the "Al-Musrara Café" of the Kastiro family in the morning hours and forced its owner out, then proceeded to empty the contents of the café.
In 1950, the Israeli Knesset passed the "Absentee Property Law", through which the property of Palestinians who were displaced from their lands, homes and property was seized.
Mohammad Kastiro - the owner of the café - said that the family rented the property in 1954 from the "Custodian of Enemy Property", and after the occupation of East Jerusalem, they began paying rent to the "Custodian of Absentee Property".
Kastiro said that the general trustee authorized by the " Custodian of Absentee Property" has been pursuing the family and demanding the property since 2010, and over the past years, the family has lost the right to protection and the annual rent was doubled.
Kastiro said that the court issued the eviction order in 2022, and the family appealed the decision to the Israeli courts, but all of them approved it.
The Israeli Supreme Court issued the eviction order last July, and today the occupation forces implemented it.
Kastiro said: "I went to work as usual, and while I was in the café, the forces stormed the place and demanded that I leave it, then proceeded to evacuate it."
The Al-Musrara area is located a few meters away from the Damascus Gate area in Jerusalem, and there are various shops there.
Al-Aqsa raids
155 extremists stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Dung Gate, whose keys have been controlled by the occupation authorities since the occupation of Jerusalem, under the protection of the occupation forces.
The settlers performed prayers in Al-Aqsa.
Arrests
The occupation forces carried out arrests from the villages of Jabal Al-Mukabber, At-Tur, and Silwan in Jerusalem.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center learned that the forces arrested the Jerusalemite Khaled Al-Zeer from Silwan, and released him on condition that he be removed from the Wadi Al-Rababeh neighborhood in the town for two weeks.
Al-Zeer explained that the police accused him of "uprooting trees for the Nature and parks Authority from the lands," and Al-Zeer denied the charge and said: "These lands belong to the church and I clean and guard the land, but the occupation wants to seize the land."
Last week, the occupation authorities removed Al-Zeer from the Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, and prevented him from filming in the neighborhood.
Last week, the Supreme Court approved the appeal submitted by the Public Prosecution against the decision of the District Court issued against the two young men, Mu’taz Al-Sao and Bilal Al-Jabari, and the verdicts became:
▪︎ Bilal al-Jabari, the Supreme Court added a year to his sentence, making it 6 years.
▪︎ Mu’taz al-Sao, the Supreme Court added a year to his sentence, making it 5 years.
The forces arrested the two young men in early 2022 and transferred them to prison cells on charges of "throwing Molotov cocktails at a settlement outpost in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood." In mid-2023, the District Court issued a prison sentence, then the Israeli prosecution appealed the decision, and the Supreme Court issued the ruling last week.
Three months ago, the District Court added 7 months of prison time against the young man al-Jabari in another case when he was 14 years old.
Self-demolition in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood
The occupation municipality forced the Salem family to self-demolish the house of the late mother, Fatima Salem, under the pretext of building without a permit.
The family said that the municipality crews and forces stormed the house and demanded that they implement the decision, otherwise their crews would do so and they would have to pay the demolition fee, so they were forced to implement the decision two days ago.
The residential apartment consists of one room and its utilities have been in place for more than 20 years. The old woman and her husband lived in it, and after their death, her son Khalil lived in it with his family.
The homes of the Salem family "Ibrahim Salem and Ayoub Salem" are threatened with eviction in favor of the settlers by a court decision under the pretext that the land was owned by Jews before the occupation.
The settlers seized the Salem family's land in 2021, which is a plot of land located in front of their homes.
