A Palestinian protestor

(Sunday 28 February) About two hundred Israeli armed policemen invaded the compound of the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem to attack a non-violent sit-in, organized by Palestinians in the city in protest of an imminent invasion of the mosque by Jewish settlers for the Jewish holiday of Purim. According to testimonies on the ground, tens of Palestinians were injured by Israeli occupation forces that attacked the non-violent protesters with rubber-coated bullets, tear gas bombs and clubs.

The invasion of the al-Aqsa compound by Jewish settlers and Right-wing extremists on the first day of Purim has now become a customary event for Palestinian Jerusalemites. Protected by armed Israeli police, hundreds of Israelis and Jews from abroad attempted to storm into the compound of al-Aqsa in celebration of the Jewish festival of Purim and to “ascend to the Temple Mount,” according to the Israeli colonial jargon. Prepared for the event, around twenty Palestinians crowded the night of Saturday [February 27th, 2010] in order to defend any possible invasion through Bab al-Maghariba [Dung Gate], where an entrance to the compound is located and which is monitored solely by the Israeli occupation forces.

The clashes this morning rapidly spread to the other parts of Jerusalem’s Old City. Witnesses on the ground told the Alternative Information Center (AIC) that clashes between the Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian Jerusalemites have taken place in the market area and around the main gates that open into the Old City, namely Bab al-Amud [Damascus Gate] and Bab al-Asbat [Lions’ Gate]. The violent scenario this morning included an Israeli attack on a spontaneous and pacifist march of Jerusalemite school-girls in solidarity with the sit-in inside the al-Aqsa compound and which involved tear-gas bombs and Israeli policemen’s clubs.

The current events in Jerusalem are to be seen in light of the recent Israeli decision to include the Ibrahimi Mosque of Hebron and the Bilal bin-Rabbah Mosque [Rachel’s Tomb] in Bethlehem, two holy sites for Palestinians and which are located in the occupied West Bank, in the Jewish Heritage List. Immediately after Israeli Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu’s announcement of this decision last week, demonstrations all around the West Bank commenced, in which Palestinians expressed their protest against the Israeli theft and exclusion policy of the holy and historical sites of Palestine.

At this moment, large numbers of armed Israeli forces are reported to be present in the area of the Old City and inside the al-Aqsa compound. It is also reported that Israeli forces are preventing any Palestinian below the age of 50 from entering the al-Aqsa compound, while foreign tourists can enter the area through the Israeli-only monitored entrance to the compound in the Bab al-Maghariba [Dung Gate] area.

Source: FOA