Israeli security forces are preparing to implement unprecedented restrictions on the Palestinians visiting the Al-Aqsa mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem during Ramadan. The move is despite warnings that it may provoke greater resistance in the West Bank which is already facing increased assault from the occupation forces since the war in Gaza.
Israeli media reported a meeting among different wings of the occupation forces on Monday to chalk out the plan for the implementation of restrictions proposed by Israel’s national security minister and ultra right-wing politician Itamar Ben Gvir a few weeks ago.
Ben Gvir had announced that during the month of Ramadan, no Arab-Israeli citizen below the age of 70 would be allowed to visit Al-Aqsa and the number of Palestinians allowed to enter the premises would also be strictly limited.
After apprehensions were raised globally that such restrictions may incite greater resistance in the occupied territories, Israeli media had earlier reported that Ben Gvir’s announcements would not be implemented.
Palestinian authority and resistance groups such as Hamas have warned against the restrictions. Calling it an assault on Palestinians’ freedom of worship, Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas had called Palestinians “in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march to Al-Aqsa on the first day of Ramadan” to defy the restrictions.
Israel has often imposed restrictions on the Palestinian worshipers inside Al-Aqsa mosque in the past and its forces attack Palestinians visiting the compound throughout the year.
During Ramadan last year, Israeli occupation forces arrested over 400 Palestinians during repeated raids on the mosque compound. Over 170 Palestinians were also injured in those attacks.
In 2022, violence by the occupation forces on worshipers at Al-Aqsa had led to rocket fire from Gaza followed by Israeli bombing of the besieged territory for 11 days killing over 270 Palestinians and wounding nearly 2,000.
Ever since the war in Gaza, Israeli occupation forces have increased restrictions on the entry of Palestinians in the mosque compound. They check identification papers of the visitors on a regular basis and detain youth, often for hours, in order to prevent them from visiting.
On almost every Friday, when the number of worshipers is higher, Palestinians are attacked by the occupation forces in the name of security.
In the meantime, Israeli settlers who have been campaigning for converting the Al-Aqsa mosque into a Jewish religious place citing mythical sources identifying the place as Temple Mount, are often escorted by the occupation forces to visit the mosque compound illegally. The settlers storm the mosque compound and provocatively perform rituals otherwise disallowed.
Sometimes these illegal settlers are accompanied by Ben Gvir himself.
On Monday, March 4 scores of such settlers stormed the compound once again under heavy security cover provided by the occupation forces.
Attacks on Palestinians in West Bank
Occupation forces have also continued to target Palestinians in the West Bank on a daily basis, attacking the refugee camps, destroying homes and civilian infrastructure, and detaining and killing them. The attacks have increased several folds since the war in Gaza.
On Monday, the occupation forces attacked al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah and shot and killed 16-year-old Mustafa Abu Shalbak.
Repeated Israeli raids in the Palestinian towns and cities in the occupied West Bank have killed over 400 Palestinians, including almost 100 children, since October 7.
Occupation forces arrested over 56 Palestinians in raids across the territory on Monday. According to one Wafa report, most of the people arrested were former detainees.
Israel has been accused of following a policy of rearresting Palestinians who have already spent years in its jails in complete breach of their legal rights or conditions of their release.
Israel has also been accused by human rights groups of arresting a large number of Palestinian as a strategic move during the bargaining for hostage exchange with Hamas.
The raids were conducted in Nour Shams camp near Tulkarm, al-Amari camp near Ramallah, town of Dura near Hebron, Bethlehem, occupied East Jerusalem and other places.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Israel has detained over 7,400 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7. It released around 240 Palestinian prisoners during the truce agreement with Hamas in later November.
In the meantime, Illegal Israeli settlers continue to storm and attack Palestinian villages, farms and towns in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
On Monday they stormed and attacked Palestinians in the eastern part of Nablus seriously wounding one of them. In a similar incident on Sunday, scores of armed illegal settlers attacked Palestinian farmers when they were working on their farms in villages near Hebron, Wafa reported.
