Hoards turned away from Jerusalem checkpoints despite assurances

Published today (updated) 18/09/2009 17:04

- Bethlehem - Ma'an -

Thousands of Palestinians attempting to gain access to Jerusalem were turned away from Israeli occupation forces  checkpoints on Friday, the last ahead of the end of Ramadan celebration Eid Al-Fitr.

Israeli sources estimated only 80,000 managed to gain access to Al-Haram Al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, that holds Al-Aqsa Mosque Complex. Palestinian sources estimated the numbers at between 100,000-150,000, still way under the crowds that were anticipated.

Israeli military personal had assured that despite a closure of the West Bank during the Israeli celebration of the Jewish New Year, men over the age of 50 and women over the age of 45 would be allowed to pass for worship. The last Friday of Ramadan is traditionally the busiest day of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque, followed by Laylat Al-Qadr, where Palestinians spend the night at the mosque's compound. An estimated 300,000 were at the mosque for the 27th night of Ramadan, and an even greater number were expected Friday.

Crowds smaller than in previous weeks at the principal checkpoints, Checkpoint 300 in Bethlehem and Qalandiya near Ramallah, still clogged regular checkpoint infrastructure and hours long delays saw lines of several hundred in Bethlehem and more than a thousand in Ramallah.

The Israeli lockdown said provisions had been made to ensure passage for "eligible Palestinians" for prayer, but the checkpoints were locked down with no Palestinians able to pass by one o'clock. A military spokesperson confirmed that checkpoints providing access to Jerusalem were closed when the prayer began at 1:30.

According to an Israeli report on Thursday, provisions were being made to ensure men over fifty and women over 45 would still be able to access Jerusalem. A report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) noted that last week at least 60 percent of Palestinians were denied entry to East Jerusalem on Fridays, and noted that entry of eligible Palestinians "proved difficult due to physical obstacles and lack of adequate arrangements on the checkpoints."

The usually hectic and overcrowded Bethlehem checkpoint at Rachel's Tomb was almost silent in the early hours of the morning.

There was heavy Israeli military deployment along the wall in the neighborhoods of Al-Ram, ostensibly to prevent incidents reported last week where at least a hundred Palestinians climbed the 30 foot concrete wall and jumped over to the Israeli controlled side. Medics confirmed that a dozen were treated for fractures from the fall. Israeli forces installed six watch towers along the wall in the Shu'afat Refugee Camp and Al-Za'im neighborhood to ensure containment.

Medics also reported treating several young men for burns after Israeli border guards, checking identity cards at the entrances to the Old City, harassed youth, reportedly asking them if they wanted to pray at Al-Aqsa. When the youth answered "yes," the guards grabbed their hands and shoved them into the radiator of nearby military vehicles. The youth sustained moderate burns on their hands.

Head of the high Islamic committee and orator of Al-Aqsa Mosque Akramah Sabri had urged the Palestinians in his sermon on Friday to continue traveling to Al-Aqsa for prayer and denounced the Israeli restrictions.

Bietawi: The Aqsa is ours and we'll defend it to death

[ 18/09/2009 - 03:24 PM ]

Occupied Jerusalem, (PIC)--

The prominent Muslim leader Sheikh Hamid Al-Beitawi has asserted Thursday that the Aqsa Mosque was and would remain for Muslims and that the Palestinian people were ready to die defending it.

Beitawi's remarks were made after he led tens of thousands of pious Palestinians in the noon prayer in the Aqsa Mosque amidst clear popular support for him.

Eyewitnesses recorded that thousands of worshippers inside the Mosque start to chant the name of the Islamic Movement moments after they noticed Beitawi entering the holy Muslim shrine.

According to a local source in the occupied city of Jerusalem, Bietawi, who is also a Palestinian parliament member affiliated to Hamas Movement, succeeded in making his way to the Mosque despite the Israeli barriers that blocked and held him for hours in an attempt to foil his trip to the Mosque.

"We have indeed missed you so much sheikh, and we have missed all the lions and sheikhs of Hamas," one of Palestinian worshipper said as tens of Palestinian worshippers rushed to hug and kiss Beitawi after the prayer.

For his part, Beitawi called for an end to the Palestinian political rift that serves none but the Zionist entity, underlining that Hamas's hand was and still is stretched and opened for the Palestinian national reconciliation.

"We love you, and we appreciate your feelings towards us, and we wished we could serve you, but one thing I could assure you of and that is we won't abandon you and the leaders of the Islamic Movement would never compromise the Palestinian legal rights and would never forsake the Palestinian national constants at all cost", Beitawi stressed.

He added, "We shall stay with you entrenched to fight the Zionists…. We gather here today, and Allah willing we will be martyred here in the Aqsa Mosque…. The [Aqsa] Mosque is for us, and it is not for the oppressors".    

Abu Halabiya: Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque at serious risk

[ 17/09/2009 - 10:26 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Palestinian lawmaker and head of Al-Quds international institution – Gaza branch Dr. Ahmed Abu Halabiya warned Wednesday that the occupied city of Jerusalem, the Aqsa Mosque and the other holy places are at serious risk that requires immediate action to save them.

Dr. Abu Halabiya, on the occasion of the international day of Jerusalem, called on all Arabs and Muslims to provide every kind of support to strengthen the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the occupied holy lands.

He called for initiating an intensive media campaign in all Arab and Muslim countries to expose the ongoing Israeli violations committed against Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque.

The lawmaker also stressed the importance of assigning a committee of Arab and Muslim lawyers around the world to file lawsuits against Israel for committing war crimes inside the holy city and under the Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards.

Meanwhile, about 300,000 Palestinians, mostly from Jerusalem and the 1948 occupied lands attended on Wednesday Laylat Al-Qadr prayers (the night of 27th of Ramadan) in the Aqsa Mosque.

For its part, the Aqsa foundation distributed more than 40,000 meals to the fasting people in the holy Mosque, while Al-Bayarek foundation afforded about 250 buses to transport Palestinian worshipers from different areas in the 1948 occupied lands to the Mosque.

The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) intensified the presence of its troops and policemen throughout Jerusalem and imposed restrictions on the movement of Palestinians who wanted to reach the Aqsa Mosque especially those who came from West Bank areas.

It was also reported that IOF troops kidnapped on Wednesday four Palestinian young men during a raid on the neighborhood of Wadi Hilwa in Silwan town, south of the Aqsa Mosque.