OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
Since October 7 of last year, 68 citizens have been martyred, and 1,711 have been detained in Occupied Jerusalem. As of September 8, 2024, the Israeli occupation forces continue to hold the bodies of 43 Jerusalemites in their refrigerators and numbered graves, according to a report from the Jerusalem Governorate.
Settler assaults on Palestinians, particularly in Jerusalem, are increasing, with the occupation government deliberately providing cover for their criminal racist practices. Since October 7, about 138 settler assaults have been recorded, including over 20 incidents involving physical harm.
A total of 234 Palestinians have been injured due to live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets, severe beatings, and cases of gas inhalation.
Crimes against Al-Aqsa
In a clear and blatant violation of the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, settler incursions continue, with 46,293 settlers storming the Mosque during the morning and evening periods, protected by occupation forces.
The occupation forces have maintained a siege on Al-Aqsa Mosque since October 7, restricting the entry of Muslim worshipers, stationed at the Mosque’s gates, erecting metal barriers, and attempting to obstruct their access. Settler incursions continue through the Mughrabi Gate.
Moreover, during Fridays, the occupation forces intensify their restrictions on worshipers. The occupation authorities impose limitations on freedom of worship and entry to Al-Aqsa, setting up checkpoints at the Mosque’s doors and entrances, as well as in the Old City and nearby neighborhoods, and assaulting worshipers on multiple occasions with beating and arrests.
During the first half of the year, the occupation forces imposed restrictions on the number of participants allowed for funerals, escorting the body, carrying it, and praying for it, inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, limiting the number of people allowed to enter to a maximum of 10.
During Ramadan, the occupation prevented worshipers from the West Bank from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque except under certain restrictions, including age limits, requiring men to be over 55 and women over 50, and issuing special permits for prayer that expire at 5 PM, allowing worshipers to perform the noon and afternoon prayers but forcing them to leave Jerusalem before the evening prayer and the Taraweeh prayers.
The most dangerous shift during August was the attempt to impose a new political reality through repeated incursions by Israeli ministers and members of the Knesset. The extremist minister Ben Gvir declared his intention to build a synagogue inside the blessed mosque and to implement a policy that would allow Jews to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque equally with Muslims.
Former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin boasted that he performed his prayers in full at Al-Aqsa for the first time in 30 years, considering it a significant change in the way settlers invade Al-Aqsa, and a confirmation of Israeli sovereignty over it. He was joined in prayer by Rabbi Yousef Elbaum, one of the rabbis of the so-called “Temple Mount religious school.”
Arrests
The report documented 1,711 cases of arrest, including 137 children and 96 women, in the Jerusalem area. The occupation courts have issued unjust decisions against the detainees, including actual prison sentences, house arrests, deportations, and hefty fines. Some detainees have had travel bans imposed on them, and many have had their detention extended for months, possibly years, without clear charges.
Additionally, the racist occupation courts issued 335 actual prison sentences against Jerusalemite prisoners. An increase in punitive measures against Jerusalemites has been observed, particularly in judicial rulings, exploiting the current situation especially after October 7, 2023, to impose these penalties and taking advantage of the world’s preoccupation with the war on Gaza.
99 house arrest orders have been recorded by the occupation authorities since October 7.
Deportation decisions
The occupation forces use the deportation decisions they issue as a means to suppress the Palestinian presence in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Old City, Bab al-Amud, and other targeted neighborhoods. The occupation authorities issued 103 deportation orders and 11 travel bans.
The number of demolition operations in the Jerusalem Governorate reached 307, with the occupation authorities justifying home demolitions on the grounds of being built without permits, despite the rarity of approvals for the necessary permits to build homes for Jerusalemites.
Settlement projects
The occupation forces approved around 16 new settlement projects, in addition to ongoing projects and those that have been officially opened. The occupation government approved the construction of 1,738 settlement units, including high-rise towers, schools, residential apartments, and public facilities serving the settlers on Palestinian land in southeastern Occupied Jerusalem.
During the first half of 2024, the occupation forces approved 13 new settlement projects and began implementing more than 9 previously approved projects. The occupation authorities also completed work on two other projects.
In July, the occupation authorities approved a settlement project, and the local and district planning committees in the Jerusalem municipality approved a project to build a high-rise settlement tower, the tallest in Jerusalem, named “The Khalifa Tower of Jerusalem.” Settlers established a new settlement outpost in Wadi Salman, northwest of Occupied Jerusalem, adjacent to a Palestinian Bedouin community.
In August, the occupation forces opened two previously worked-on projects, and settlers established a new settlement outpost. A park was opened for settlers in the French Hill area northeast of Al-Aqsa Mosque, covering an area of 63 dunums, named Horeisha.
The municipality opened a large electric bus station on occupied Palestinian land in the Ramot settlement area north of Occupied Jerusalem, and settlers established a new outpost in the Khan al-Ahmar area of Occupied Jerusalem.
