Day: February 22, 2024

As an integral part of the comprehensive war waged by the Zionist enemy entity against the Palestinian presence in the Gaza Strip, the bastard entity is accelerating its Judaization steps aiming to create new realities targeting the occupied West Bank in general and the city of al-Quds and al-Aqsa Mosque in particular, which expand and strengthen its settlement project at the expense of the Palestinian people.

Continuing devastating Zionist war on the Gaza Strip, the Zionist enemy authorities began implementing all of their postponed settlement plans against the occupied West Bank and al-Quds, by seeking to establish a new neighborhood for Jews in occupied East al-Quds, which would further marginalize the area of Palestinian land while facilitating settlers’ incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque, and protecting them with the aim of seizing the homes of Maqdesyans and removing any architectural or heritage landmarks that indicate the Arabism and Islam of those homes and neighborhoods., while facilitating incursions
into the Gaza Strip.

In this context, the recent Zionist decision to build a new neighborhood for Jews in East al-Quds bearing the name ‘Nove Rachel,’ and located a few meters away from Palestinian homes in the occupied village of ‘Umm Tuba,’ southeast of al-Quds, falls within a plan to impose a complete Judaization and Zionization of the city of al-Quds along with increased systematic pressures to make Palestinian life marginal in all aspects of life.

According to the Zionist newspaper “Haaretz”, the plan of the so-called Zionist Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for this file, and a real estate company controlled by far-right activists, stipulates the construction of this neighborhood, whose first phase includes the construction of 650 housing units.

“Haaretz” says that the new neighborhood is the fourth that the “Guardian of Absentee Property” unit in the so-called Zionist Ministry of Justice has been working on in recent years in East al-Quds, noting that the Ministry is taking advantage of the
Judicial Procedures and Administration Law that was enacted in 1970, and stipulates: The Jews who owned property and lands in East al-Quds before 1948 have the right to demand their return.

As for the other three settlements, they are: the ‘Kidmat Zion’ settlement between al-Quds neighborhood of Ras al-Amud and the separation wall, the ‘Givat Shaked’ settlement scheduled to be established on the lands of the village of Umm Safa, north of Ramallah, and finally the ‘Emit Haim Hatina’ settlement, which is planned to be established near ‘Umm Tuba’ as well.

It is noteworthy that the “Haaretz” report indicated that there is a plan to work and at great speed on the construction of Jews in occupied East al-Quds, in addition to the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, since the start of the war on Gaza, with an estimated 3,000 housing units. It was monitored by Zionist non-governmental organizations, including the Zionist NGO “Peace Now”, which stated, in a report, that the settlers established a reco
rd number of random settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank last year. Established after the start of the war on Gaza.

It is important to point out that the Zionist enemy’s plan in this regard serves its Judaization goals in the city of al-Quds, especially since the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, 18 new roads were paved to facilitate the movement of settlers, which means imposing their control over larger areas in the West Bank. and increasing the siege of the Palestinian presence there, putting difficulties to the lives of its civilians, given the tightening of road barriers by the Zionist authorities, and preventing Palestinians from reaching the areas where the settlers are located. In the midst of this frantic endeavor to strengthen settlements, the Prime Minister of the Zionist enemy entity, Benjamin Netanyahu, approved the decision of the so-called Extremist National Security Minister Itammar Ben Ghafir, which restricts the arrival of Palestinian worshipers from the inside, the West B
ank and al-Quds to al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.

Ben Gvir’s plan stipulates that worshipers coming from the West Bank and the occupied interior will be prevented from entering al-Aqsa Mosque to perform prayers, under the pretext of “security reasons” and to prevent the outbreak of confrontations between Palestinians and enemy forces.

The Palestinians described the new decision as a Judaization of the mosque, expressing their fear that the restrictions imposed on their entry to al-Aqsa would pave the way for its division between Muslims and Jews, similar to the division of al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron during the 1990s.

In this context, the Supreme Fatwa Council in Palestine warned of the repercussions of the decision to prevent Palestinians from the West Bank from entering al-Aqsa Mosque, and to restrict the entry of Palestinians from al-Quds and the 1948 territories to the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, to perform religious rituals during the holy month of Ramadan, in submission to right-wing e
xtremist pressures.

The Fatwa Council explained in a press statement that the Blessed al-Aqsa Mosque is currently going through a painful and dangerous reality, calling for this decision to be taken seriously, as the danger is imminent, the aggression is fierce, and the arrogance is raging, and this decision, which was taken from the highest political levels, exposes the policy of the occupation authorities in imposing a fait accompli in the Blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, which aims to empty al-Aqsa Mosque of its visitors, in implementation of the plan to Judaize it and build their alleged temple. It represents an extension of the comprehensive war waged by the Zionist enemy forces against everything that is Palestinian, and to impose a Judaizing fait accompli on Palestinian land.

The Council held the Zionist enemy authorities accountable for the consequences of these hateful decisions that increase the fire of hatred in the region and fuel conflict there.

In turn, Palestine Chief Justice Mahmoud al-Habbash warne
d of the Zionist enemy’s intention to restrict the entry of Palestinians to al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, whether from within the 1948 territories, Maqdesyans Jerusalemites, or the West Bank.

Al-Habbash said in a press statement that such a measure would explode the situation in a way that no one expected or could control, describing the step as further ignition of religious war.

He stressed that the Zionist enemy authorities’ attempt to isolate the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque and prevent Muslims from reaching it, especially in the blessed month of Ramadan, will not pass and the extremist terrorist government will not be able to impose it, as long as there is a single Palestinian on this land. The mosque is the mosque of the Palestinians and al-Quds is their city and capital, and the crown jewel of all Muslims. It will never be neglected, no matter how great the sacrifices are.

Source: Yemen News Agency