The battle for al-Aqsa 'has just started'

Al Jazeera
August 23, 2017

Aug 23: A month after protests over new Israeli security measures at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound rocked occupied East Jerusalem, the tension between the Old City's Palestinian residents and Israeli security forces is still simmering due to Israel's policy of collective punishment.

According to prisoner rights group Addameer, 425 Palestinians were arrested from East Jerusalem in July alone. The majority of the arrests took place in the second half of the month following the installation of Israeli security measures at the entrances of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The arrests have continued in August, following the success of what analysts described as the largest civil disobedience protests in recent Palestinian memory that eventually forced Israel to dismantle the metal detectors and CCTV cameras it had installed after only two weeks.

"They want to take revenge on the entire community," one resident of Bab al-Hutta neighbourhood in the Old City told Al Jazeera as Israeli border police arrested his neighbour one August evening.

Battle of the Gates

The "Battle of the Gates" as some Jerusalemites like to call it, began on July 14 when three Palestinian citizens of Israel from the city of Umm al-Fahm killed two Israeli police officers inside the entrance of Bab Hutta, just outside the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israeli authorities first responded with closing down the entire compound for the first time since 1969, before installing metal detectors two days later.

Aware that the metal detectors represented not so much a normal security measure, but rather an assertion of Israeli control on al-Aqsa, Palestinians in Jerusalem waged an open-ended protest against the newly introduced measures.

The mass protests were characterised by their largely peaceful nature, which involved tens of thousands participating in sit-ins and prayers outside the entrances to the compound. These were often preceded and followed by chants that called for the liberation of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque, in addition to chants that condemned Israeli occupation and the perceived complicity of Arab governments with the occupation.

Given the absence of any political leadership, the question that begs to be asked is: what had made these protests, with the participation of tens of thousands of Palestinians, a success?

'Our sole breathing space'

The importance of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its status among Palestinians stretches beyond being a place of worship into a communal space.

"Al-Aqsa is like our own home and our sole breathing space," Zahra Qaws, a nurse and resident of the Afro-Palestinian community inside Jerusalem's Old City, told Al Jazeera.

"We don't just pray there," Qaws said. "We gather there, we rest and relax there, and our kids also play there. Separating us from al-Aqsa is like stripping us of our lungs."

The largest sit-ins protesting the metal detectors were held outside the Lions Gate and al-Majlis Gate, close to where the Afro-Palestinian community lives.

Describing the al-Aqsa compound as the only "respite" for Palestinian families living in the Old City who are prevented by Israeli forces from renovating or expanding their homes, Qaws said that when the protests started, the residents felt the immediate urge to support the sit-ins with all they had.

"People instinctively came out to support the protests and sustaining them by offering food, water, and a warm embrace to the protesters," she explained, mentioning that she had helped cook food for the protesters during the initial stages of the sit-in.

The idea to distribute food to the protesters, whose numbers gradually increased every day, came from a street vendor who belongs to the Afro-Palestinian community. The young man, whose name is withheld for safety reasons, donated the fruits and vegetables he usually sells on his cart to people joining the sit-ins.

Residents of the Old City took the idea one step further and in one communal act, began cooking meals and distributing food and fruits from their own homes to the protesters. This was followed by donations and prepared meals from Palestinian individuals and charities alike, as the numbers of protesters increased and vastly outnumbered the humble capacities of the Old City's residents.

Self-imposed ban

But what had made these sit-ins popular in the first place, according to East Jerusalem Palestinians, was their refusal to enter the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in its entirety, as long as the new Israeli security measures were still in place.

According to several protesters interviewed by Al Jazeera, the decision was taken up spontaneously by young men, many of whom refused to talk to the media in the wake of the Israeli crackdown on the protest movement.

The unwritten rule became mainstream after Omar al-Kiswani, manager of al-Aqsa Mosque and Islamic Endowment (Waqf) employee, was the first high-ranking Waqf official to refuse to enter the mosque through the metal detectors under popular pressure.

"Everyone misses praying inside the compound," Kiswani told local media at the time, "but we want to be able to enter with dignity and pride."

High spirits

During the sit-in, and under the sweltering July heat, protesters remained in high spirits even after Israeli repression. Praying on the streets or steps, encouraging one another after the prayers, and talking about the importance of steadfastness, protesters remained confident of the success of their movement.

The peaceful nature of the protests made it open to Palestinians from all walks of life and from all ages, including children, families and the elderly.

Jehad, who declined to give his last name, told Al Jazeera that the significance of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to Palestinians was not just religious; it was also the epicentre of their lives.

"This is why many of us who are not religious and don't generally pray made sure to come and participate in the sit-ins," he said. "Some of those who came don't even know how to pray properly yet insisted on participating."

"Israeli forces would hit stun grenades at us when we were praying," Zinat al-Jallad, who has been frequently banned from entering al-Aqsa Mosque compound, told Al Jazeera. "But the more the repression increased, the harder they beat us, the more people joined the sit-ins."

No political rule

Sabrina Joudeh, who lives in the Palestinian Wadi Joz neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem, said that one of the reasons why the sit-ins were so successful was due to the protesters' refusal for any Palestinian politician to get involved, for fear of riding the wave for their own political gains and breaking up the grassroots movement.

"Even when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement in support of the protesters, they immediately started chanting against him," Joudeh said to Al Jazeera.

According to Abdelsattar Qassem, a professor of political science at the An-Najah University in Nablus, Abbas was dismissed by protesters because the PA's interests "are deeply intertwined with those of Israel's".

"Even the ostensible freezing of security coordination [between PA and Israel] was more of a decision for public consumption and an attempt by the PA to save face," Qassem said, labelling the government's support for the protests as a "form of rhetoric".

Abbas was not the only Arab leader to be chanted against. For many years, Arab leaders have used the Jerusalem cause to whitewash their oppressive rule and polish their own names, while simultaneously ignoring the plight of Palestinians in Jerusalem and their increasing marginalisation under Israeli occupation for decades. Saudi's King Salman, Jordan's King Abdullah and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi were not spared from the protesters' verbal barbs.

Strong spirit

Regarding the situation now, Joudeh said that Jewish settlers, mainly organised under the umbrella of right-wing ultra-nationalist groups such as the Temple Mount Movement, enter the compound on an almost daily basis under the protection of heavily armed Israeli military, and attempt to perform religious rites.

Their presence is viewed as a provocation by Palestinian worshippers and an attempt to disrupt the status quo, which according to an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government after Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, prohibits non-Muslim worship within the compound.

Jerusalem is simmering with confrontation, says Joudeh.

"In Jerusalem, the [Israeli] repression of Palestinians has increased notably," she said. "Random arrests, searches, destroying Palestinian cars for no reason, and arbitrary checkpoints have sprung up everywhere."

Joudeh said that despite these added restrictions and hindrances by Israeli authorities, the spirit of Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem has never been stronger.

Despite the unprecedented success of the protest, Palestinians are not resting on their laurels.

"Through popular mobilisation, we managed to defeat Israel's plan to expand control over Al-Aqsa," said al-Jallad, who is still banned from entering Al-Aqsa despite the lack of an official order against her.

"But we also know that the battle has just started. Israeli authorities' attempts to Judaise the city will not stop, and we have to take advantage of our victory to escalate the resistance."

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News Network
March 15,2024

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The leader of Yemen’s Houthis has said that the Yemeni armed forces will continue their retaliatory operations against Israeli-affiliated commercial vessels, preventing the passage of the ships even through the Indian Ocean and through the Cape of Good Hope.  

About 34 Houthi fighters have been killed since the Yemeni armed forces began to attack shipping lanes in solidarity with the people of Palestine under attack in Gaza by Israel, Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday.

Yemeni forces have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against Israeli and Israel-bound ships since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's war on Gaza.

Al-Houthi said 73 ships have been targeted in Yemeni operations in support of Gaza so far, adding rarely does any ship associated with the Israeli enemy pass through Bab al-Mandab.

“This week, support operations included 12 operations targeting ships and barges, executed with a total of 58 ballistic and cruise missiles and drones in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden,” he said.

“Our operations this time reached unprecedented ranges, with 3 operations reaching the Indian Ocean, by the grace of Allah,” he added. “The total number of targeted ships and barges reached 73.”

Al-Houthi said that the operations will continue as long as the aggression and siege on Gaza persist.

The United States and Britain began striking Yemen in January in order to dissuade the country from targeting Israeli ships which carry arms and logistics for the onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Al-Houthi said the Americans and the British have received “painful blows” from the Yemeni armed forces in retaliation.

The American-British “aggression will not affect the escalating course of our operations in terms of range, momentum, precision, and strength,” said Al-Houthi.  

“What can stop the Yemeni military’s maritime operations is only the cessation of aggression and siege on Gaza,” he noted.

The American stubbornness and escalation of aggression result in only one outcome: the expansion of the conflict, the widening of the circle of war and events, and the tension of the situation at the regional level in general, he stated.

He went on to say that the Yemeni armed forces will continue and effectively expand the range of the operations to reach areas and locations that the enemy never expected.

Al-Houthi said what insures the navigation security in the Red Sea is for any country not to participate in the Israeli aggression against Gaza.

He said the Americans and those who drag the United States towards the militarization of the Red Sea are the ones who undermine international navigation.

“By the grace of Allah and His assistance, we aim to prevent the passage of ships associated with the Israeli enemy even through the Indian Ocean and from South Africa towards the Cape of Good Hope,” he stated.

“For this important, advanced, and significant step, we have begun to implement our operations related to it through the Indian Ocean and from South Africa towards the Cape of Good Hope,” he said.

There is absolutely no choice for the American and the British but to stop the aggression on Gaza and stop starving the people in Gaza, he declared.

“Our human conscience, our religion, our morals, our dignity, our pride, our belonging to Islam, prohibit us from watching the oppression of Palestine or remaining silent about it,” said Houthi.

He added that the Yemeni military is in continuous development of capabilities and in constant expansion of the stance in its range, effectiveness, and impact.

“The American's actions this week, involving aerial bombings and naval shelling, amounted to 32 bombing raids and strikes, which, as usual, were unsuccessful,” he revealed.

“The impact of the American raids and bombings is negligible regarding our missile and drone capabilities and in terms of continuing operations effectively to counter it, and in preventing ships associated with the Israeli enemy,” he stated.

He concluded by saying that the Yemeni armed forces are continuously escalating, and increasing capabilities to attack enemy ships. “No matter what the Americans do, they will not be able to stop us from supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they won’t stop retaliatory strikes.

The maritime attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.

Tankers are instead adding thousands of miles to international shipping routes by sailing around the continent of Africa rather than going through the Suez Canal.

Since the start of Israel's genocidal war following Operation al-Aqsa Storm by Gaza-based resistance movements on October 7, 2023, more than 31,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, have lost their lives.

The Israeli military offensive has left a trail of destruction in Gaza, leaving hospitals in ruins and displacing around half of its 2.4 million residents.

Israel has additionally enforced a comprehensive blockade on the coastal sliver, severing the supply of fuel, electricity, sustenance and water to the population residing there.

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News Network
March 26,2024

gazastrike.jpg

There is no let-up in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire.”

Israel carried out air raids and artillery strikes on several parts of Gaza on Tuesday, hitting residential buildings and gatherings of displaced people, “killing and wounding hundreds of people”, the Palestinian Information Center said.

Among the victims are 15 people, including four women and children, who were killed in an attack on a house in the neighborhood of Mosbeh, north of Rafah.

Media reports also said that fighting on the ground continued unabated.

That’s while the UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution for an “immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The resolution was put forward by the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. The US abstained and the 14 other council members all voted in favor of it.

After the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on social media platform X that failing to implement the resolution “would be unforgivable.”

Palestinian resistance movements have welcomed the resolution, but Israel’s minister for military affairs Yoav Gallant said Israel will not stop its attacks in Gaza. 

“We will operate against Hamas everywhere – including in places where we have not yet been,” Gallant said.

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, also said in a post on X that the attacks will continue until all the captives taken by Hamas during its October 7 blitz are released.

Israel unleashed its war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 32,300 Palestinians and injured over 74,000 others.

The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza.

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News Network
March 29,2024

syria.jpg

Dozens of people have lost their lives and sustained injuries when Israeli military aircraft carried out a string of aerial assaults on targets near the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, according to Syrian officials.

Citing an unnamed military source, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that “the Israeli enemy launched an aerial attack at approximately 1:45 a.m. local time on Friday (March 29) from the direction of Athriya, southeast of Aleppo.”

It added that “civilians and military personnel” had been killed and wounded in the strikes.

SANA noted that Israeli drone strikes had targeted civilians in Aleppo and its suburbs. It did not give an exact number for the casualties.

Two security sources said the strikes on Aleppo early on Friday killed 33 civilians and military personnel.

There was no immediate statement from Israeli officials on the strikes.

Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once its commercial center, has come under such attacks in the past that led to the closure of its international airport. Friday's strike did not affect the airport.

On Thursday evening, Syrian media outlets reported Israeli airstrikes near the capital Damascus saying it wounded two civilians.

The Israeli regime often conducts airstrikes on military installations in Syria, particularly those belonging to the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has been instrumental in supporting the Syrian army in its battle against terrorists backed by foreign entities.

The Tel Aviv regime does not acknowledge its military actions within Syrian territories, which is widely interpreted as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s triumph over terrorism.

Since the onset of foreign-backed militancy in Syria in 2011, the Israeli regime has stood as a staunch supporter of terrorist factions that are in opposition to the democratically-elected leadership of President Bashar al-Assad.

The recent strikes also come amid an upsurge in Israel’s acts of aggression against Syria and its ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip which has killed at least 32,552 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

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