The minarets of Al-Aqsa Mosque once again resonate with the sound of Takbeer calling to celebrate Eid Al Adha. Eid Al Adha (‘Festival of Sacrifice’) is the day of festivals and merriment in all Muslim countries; yet Palestinians in Occupied Jerusalem face needlessly extensive and unceasingly aggressive control procedures practiced against them by the Israeli occupation. Deportation from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is the most prominent excruciating tactics.
Jerusalemite Munzer Hamadah 37 says “The occupation enjoys tormenting us in Occupied Jerusalem to empty the area of Palestinians so that it will be easier for them to change the status quo.” Hamadah who is currently banned from accessing the Al-Aqsa compound explains “On this day of the year we should all enjoy Takbeer in Al-Aqsa Mosque and gather to celebrate but nearly 90% of the activists are either in the Israeli jails or are expelled outside the city for months.”
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in East Jerusalem a part of the internationally-recognized Palestinian territories which has been militarily occupied by Israel since 1967.
Hamadah a father of six describes the celebratory vibes of Eid Al Adha in Al-Aqsa which he missed this year. “I used to bring my kids and family to help in decorating the courtyard. We also used to break our fasting for Arafa Day (the day before Eid) inside Al-Aqsa compound and enjoy hearing Eid Takbeer from the Al-Aqsa minarets.” He added that Al-Aqsa compound has missed so many people who used to come and celebrate this occasion who no longer can due to the unwarranted cruel policies of the occupation.
The Israeli authorities seek to rid the Al-Aqsa Mosque of any activists by adopting a policy of deportation that takes many forms which began with expulsions from the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City after 2003. This has developed into policy which expels activists from the entire City of Jerusalem by military order.
Through this policy Israel seeks in the long run for a physical and moral separation between Jerusalemites and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to subjugate people and force acquiescence to its racist policies on land housing and people; even working on people’s consciousness and behavior. These deportation policies define a binary: Those who confront intrusions by the occupation are tarred as “bad worshiper” who deserve to be deported while the “good worshiper” does not pay attention to any intrusions performs prayers and leaves quietly.
“The amount of agony and pain inside me with the advent of Eid al-Adha is doubled than what I felt when the occupation forced me to leave my city Jerusalem” Murad Al-Abbasi 42 says. Al-Abbasi a father of six is a Palestinian from Jerusalem who was expelled by the occupation authorities in early June on the pretext of undisclosed information in “secret files” which required preventing him from being in Jerusalem despite obtaining a “certificate of good conduct” from the occupation police. “I was born and raised here in Jerusalem” Al-Abbasi says. “My family and I used to gather and celebrate Eid. Now neither could I celebrate while I am far away from my family nor could they celebrate or enjoy.”
Al-Abbasi used to perform the Eid prayer accompanied by his father and sons in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque only a few meters away from the family home in Silwan before the entire family gathered to celebrate the holiday a marvelous social and cultural ritual that has now become forbidden to him and his family.
In Ramadan 2014 the Israeli occupation authorities began to impose the law of “morning collective expulsion of Palestinian women” from Al-Aqsa Mosque during the hours in which the Israeli settlers’ incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque are carried out which saw approximately 500 women prevented from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque daily.
Statistics from the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan indicate that during 2014 the occupation authorities expelled 300 Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque while prosecuting Al-Aqsa Mosque employees including preachers and guards in addition to arresting women children and the elderly and imposing financial fines on them.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center monitored recently 797 expulsion decisions 357 from Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Palestinian groups called on Palestinians to be present these blessed days at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to block attempts by the Jewish fanatics to desecrate it and alter its status quo.
– Wafa Aludaini is a Gaza-based journalist and activist. She contributed this article to the Palestinian Information Center.
