Palestinians flock back to Al-Aqsa Mosque

Arab News

July 28, 2017

Amman, Jul 28: Thousands of worshippers surged into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday after Israel lifted security measures imposed at the site.

Reuters reported at least 113 hurt in scuffles with Israeli police. Chaotic scenes unfolded as police used stun grenades to try to control crowds charging forward when the last gate Muslims use to enter Al-Aqsa was opened after a standoff lasting several hours.

“We will sacrifice ourselves for Al-Aqsa,” chanted the throng outside Islam’s third-holiest site.

Several young men clambered onto the mosque’s roof to affix Palestinian flags, which Israeli police soon confiscated.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said during an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo: “Israel is playing with fire and will flare up a religious war. It will shift the grounds of the conflict from political to sectarian ones.”

In a statement, the ministers praised “the efforts of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (King Salman) to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

They called on the UN Security Council to oblige Israel to stop its policies and “illegal aggressions” in East Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa.

The Saudi Royal Court on Thursday said King Salman had made contact with various world leaders regarding tensions in Jerusalem, sparked when Israel set up metal detectors at entry points to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Riyadh urged the US to exert all possible efforts to prevent the closure of the compound to Muslim worshippers and restrictions on their entry.

The Kingdom stressed the right of Muslims to pray and perform their religious duties at the mosque in peace.

King Salman stressed the need to restore calm in the area around the compound, and to respect the sanctity of the site.

Saudi Arabia also highlighted the importance of achieving a just and comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative, the two-state solution and relevant UN resolutions.

Nearly two weeks after being banned from praying in the mosque, Palestinians flocked there on Thursday afternoon for Asr prayers after Israel removed the metal detectors. This followed daily prayers on the hot pavement of Jerusalem’s streets.

The breakthrough was announced at a press conference on Thursday at the Islamic Court in Jerusalem.

It came after weeks of protests and high-level consultations that included Jordan’s King Abdallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior US officials including Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump.

A statement was issued by the newly established Islamic Religious Reference Group, comprising the director of the Waqf, the Supreme Islamic Council, the mufti of Jerusalem and the Court of Islamic Shariah. The statement called for an end to the protests outside the mosque.

Naser Abu Sharifa, a senior guard at the mosque, told Arab News: “Today is a wonderful day that has brought back a sliver of our pride and dignity, and allowed us to reunite with our beloved mosque.”

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the photo is of Dome of the Rock(with golden dome) this is not the Al Aqsa mosque

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Israel launches bloody ground offensive into Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp

News Network

May 12,2024

Israeli military tanks have started to go deeper into the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza as part of a ground offensive months after claiming Hamas had been “dismantled” in the area.

Israeli forces are “carpet-bombing” the eastern areas of Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, killing and wounding several Palestinians, Al-Jazeara reported citing local sources on Sunday.

Israeli military tanks have advanced further into the Jabalia refugee camp, crossing Salah al-Din Street amidst ongoing battles with Hamas fighters, reports added.

Media quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the tanks are surrounding evacuation centers and residential buildings in the densely populated area, leading to mass evacuations and displacement towards the western part of Gaza City.

Also, Israeli drones targeted ambulances near the clinic run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jabalia, according to Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the civil defense directorate in Gaza.

Basal stated that emergency crews in Rafah, al-Zaytounm, al-Sabra, and Jabalia have been inundated with distress calls, confirming that these areas were subjected to overnight bombardment.

Shortage of oxygen for patients

Imad Abu Zayda, an emergency doctor in Jabalia, warned of the critical conditions prevailing there due to the recent Israeli aggression in the area.

“No light due to the lack of fuel and there’s no medical supplement available as Israel has expanded their operation in the area. We have no oxygen to give to patients,” he said.

He added that the majority of those injured are children and women, and the medical team is grappling with limited resources to provide essential care.

All hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are now out of service, following a warning from the UN about the risk of running out of fuel in hospitals across the region.

Israel’s closure of the Rafah crossing has also prevented aid trucks from entering the area since May 5.

The Jabalia refugee camp, established in 1948 to accommodate Palestinians who were displaced after the Nakba, or catastrophe, which refers to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948, has become the most densely populated refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

With over 750,000 Palestinians forcefully displaced, this camp stands as a testament to the birth of Israel in 1948.

Since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israeli forces carried out several attacks on Jabilia camp, leaving it in ruins by intense bombardment.

In early February, Israeli forces withdrew from the camp claiming it had destroyed Hamas as a fighting force in the northern areas.

On Saturday, the Israeli military ordered residents of the Jabalia Refugee Camp to evacuate “immediately”, as it prepares to launch military operations against Hamas.

However, the displaced residents have no place to seek refuge, as the UN reports a severe famine in the region.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 34,971 Palestinians and injured more than 78,641 others, mostly women and children.

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