An Israeli government plan to officially register the land in East Jerusalem could effectively and irreversibly lead to the confiscation of vast swaths of Palestinian property. Ahmad Amara discusses the dire implications of this move for the people of Jerusalem, and the future of the city.
Led by Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), eight members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing their “[deep concern about] the rise in attacks against the Christian community in Jerusalem.”
The State of Israel is responsible for upholding the status quo in Jerusalem, and guaranteeing the sanctity of the Haram al-Sharif and the dignity of its Muslim worshippers. Violently disrupting Ramadan prayers, beating unarmed worshippers and intimidating Muslims in Jerusalem is absolutely not the way of peace. We call on the State of Israel to immediately commit to abstaining from any further violations of the Waqf’s authority on the Haram al-Sharif. — A letter to Illinois Muslims from 13 rabbis of T’ruah.
Israel stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacked worshipers, journalists, and medics at the holy site in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, following a week of continued raids and assaults by Israeli forces. Over the past eight days, Israel has stormed the holy site seven times, injuring dozens of worshipers and arresting hundreds of Palestinians in the process. Meanwhile Israel has facilitated the entrance of thousands of Jewish settlers for the Passover holiday.
“We deplore the Israeli government’s decision to introduce senseless violence to a prayer space. There was no need for the violence we witnessed. This situation
could have been defused peacefully. This Ramadan/Easter/Passover Israel betrayed its trust with the world’s Muslims, Christians and Jews.” From JVP rabbis’ statement on the fourth day of Passover.
Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Sunday and attacked Palestinian worshipers at the site in order to facilitate Jewish tours of the site for the Passover holiday. The raids on the compound on Sunday were the second in 48 hours, and featured heavily armed Israeli police officers beating Palestinians with batons, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds, and locking worshipers inside the prayer halls.
Jerusalem’s Greek Orthodox Patriarchate condemns restrictions imposed by Jerusalem police on the numbers of Palestinian Christians that may enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre this Saturday, one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar. “The Patriarchate is fed up with police restrictions on freedom to worship,” the Patriarchate statement reads, “with its unacceptable methods of dealing with the God given rights of Christians to… have to access their holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.”
Alya Zoabi has advocated for countless Palestinian families whose loved ones have been attacked, or killed, by the Israeli forces. But the injustice of the Israeli system hit home last month when her own brother was beaten and arrested by Israeli police in Jerusalem.
A young Palestinian girl was one of several Palestinians to be brutally assaulted by Israeli police forces in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, as hundreds of Muslims gathered in the city to commemorate a religious occasion. Videos and photos flooded social media on Monday, showing armed Israeli forces brutalizing Palestinians outside the Damascus Gate area of the Old City in East Jerusalem.
This week dozens of House members have met with Israeli leaders and tweeted praise for the country as police continued to clash with Palestinian protestors in occupied East Jerusalem, where multiple families face displacement.