صحيفة نبض الشعب الاسبوعيه رئيس التحرير جعفر الخابوري

Series of Al-Aqsa raids and the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque

By: Sari Al-Qudwa

The storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist settlers under heavy guard from the occupation police and its special forces, which was accompanied by attacks on Muslim worshipers and their expulsion from it. The settlers, protected by elements of the Israeli occupation army, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and performed Talmudic rituals at the gates and courtyards of the mosque, assaulted the worshipers and imposed forced deportation on them, stormed the old city of Hebron, stabbed a young man, and assaulted the residents and their property.

At the same time, the occupation authorities made a decision to illegally and unjustly close the Ibrahimi Mosque more than once during the past few days in front of Muslim worshipers, under the pretext of Jewish holidays, and that this closure constitutes a new aggression and a heinous crime, as it deprives worshipers of performing their religious rituals, raising the call to prayer, mentioning God, and performing prayers in this mosque, while leaving it open for settlers to perform their religious rituals.

The occupation authorities continue their policy despite the fact that all heavenly religions prohibit harming places of worship and affirm their sanctity, as international laws and customs stipulate respect for the sanctities of others and not harming them or their people in order to preserve freedom of worship. However, the occupation authorities deny all of this, and in this specific context, international intervention is required and work must be done to put a decisive end to these attacks that deprive Muslims of access to their places of worship, as the occupation authorities exercise their arbitrary, aggressive, and unjust decisions in violation of all international laws and charters that protect freedom of worship and access to its places. These crimes, in addition to being a serious and ongoing violation of international laws, constitute new evidence that the extremist government is committing crimes against Palestinian citizens, the true owners of the land, and the extremist Israeli government bears responsibility for this crime and other crimes committed against our people, and the international community must assume its responsibilities and hold Israel accountable for its crimes and its protection of criminal settlers. The occupation authorities seek to end the legal and historical status quo in Al-Aqsa by preventing worshipers from entering the mosque after assaulting them and pursuing them to arrest them in a barbaric manner. At the same time, the occupation authorities facilitated and encouraged the storming of the mosque by extremist settlers and the performance of Talmudic rituals.
The ongoing violations in Al-Aqsa require an Arab, Islamic and international stance and support and backing from our Arab and Muslim brothers and the international community for the people of Jerusalem in light of the difficult circumstances that the occupied city of Jerusalem is going through.

The courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque with its walls, buildings, courtyards, domes, corridors, benches, and its upper and lower parts are an Islamic endowment until the Day of Judgment. It is a pure right for Muslims, and no one shares it with them. It is not subject to any hostile laws or occupation decisions. The consequences and danger of these attacks that offend the feelings of Muslims all over the world, the Palestinian people must confront these attacks no matter the cost to thwart the work to empty the mosque of its visitors under flimsy motives. This attack is nothing but a continuation of the Judaization series targeting Jerusalem and its blessed mosque to create a new reality on the ground.

There is no doubt that the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by settlers under the protection of the occupation police and the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron undermines the chances of peace and threatens security and stability in the region. It has become important for the international community and the United Nations to assume their responsibilities to stop the Israeli attacks and preserve freedom of worship and the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and not allow it to be desecrated by settlers.

Nabd Al-Shaab Weekly Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Jaafar Al-Khabouri