As Ramadan nears, released prisoners in Jerusalem continue to face summonses, deportation orders, and threats
As Ramadan nears, many Jerusalemite prisoners who have been released face repeated summonses, threats, and deportation orders—an ongoing pattern each year. This highlights a systematic Israeli strategy of subjecting them to interrogations, deportations, and psychological pressure, all while trying to empty the Al-Aqsa Mosque under the guise of "preventing incitement" by the occupation authorities.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem stated that the summonses occurred at multiple sites, including the Shu'fat refugee camp checkpoint northeast of Jerusalem, the military outpost in the Ras al-Amoud neighborhood of Silwan, the Al-Qishla police station in the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Oz police station.
The center explained that the summons campaign mainly targeted released Jerusalemite prisoners, most of whom had been convicted of belonging to Hamas, including some released years earlier.
It noted that the largest campaign took place at the Shu’fat camp checkpoint, where over 70 former prisoners were summoned, interrogated, threatened, provoked, and detained for roughly four hours.
He added that the forces made the prisoners stand at the Shu’fat refugee camp checkpoint in an attempt to photograph them together with the Israeli flag. Officers also attempted to gather them at the camp entrance for a collective conversation, but the prisoners refused, resulting in verbal altercations before their release.
Among the prisoners summoned to the Shu’fat refugee camp checkpoint were: Majed al-Jo’beh, Nihad Zghayar, Jamil al-Abbasi, Nasser al-Hidmi, Yaqoub Abu Asab, Abdul Rahman Bkeirat, Khalil al-Ghazzawi, Amin Shweiki, Firas Totah, Mohammad Zghayar, Rashid al-Risheq, Suhaib Afana, Ayoub Afana, Mohammad al-Bakri, Obaida al-Tawil, Mohammad al-Shawish, Mahmoud Jaber, Malek Mheisen, Rami al-Fakhouri, and Jihad Qaws.
The center reported that some young men released from the checkpoint later received calls from intelligence agencies instructing them to report immediately to a detention point in the Ras al-Amoud neighborhood of Silwan, near the mosque. Upon arrival, officers were waiting inside police vehicles, and the young men received orders barring them from Al-Aqsa Mosque for one week, with the possibility of extension. Others received summonses to appear at the Al-Qishla police station in the Old City, with new dates scheduled, possibly leading to orders forbidding them from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The forces also raided towns and neighborhoods in Jerusalem, delivering summonses to young men.
Among those who received summonses or orders barring them in the past few hours are: Abdul Rahman Aweis, Ibrahim al-Abbasi, Mohammad Musa Odeh, Tariq Saadeh al-Abbasi, Ihab al-Hadra, Mohammad al-Firawi (one week, renewable), Mohammad Zghayar (one week, renewable), and Ahmad al-Safadi, in addition to other journalists and activists.
In the same context, Israeli occupation forces detained Fatima Khader, a woman from Jerusalem, inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque and held her at the Al-Qishla police station. Afterwards, they issued an order to ban her from the mosque for one week, with the option to extend the ban.
During a meeting of the Israeli Knesset's National Security Committee last Monday, the occupation authorities recommended limiting access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque for West Bank residents, including restrictions on the number and age of visitors, during Ramadan.
During the meeting, the police mentioned that they are in the early stages of preparations and actions. They are conducting arrests and targeting inciters, with a plan for the upcoming weeks to eliminate what they see as a threat. They are also working to prevent infiltrators from entering.
