Israeli Police Attack Imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli police preventing Muslim religious leaders and worshipers access to the Dome of the Rock. (Wafa)
Israeli police preventing Muslim religious leaders and worshipers access to the Dome of the Rock. (Wafa)
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Israeli Police Attack Imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli police preventing Muslim religious leaders and worshipers access to the Dome of the Rock. (Wafa)
Israeli police preventing Muslim religious leaders and worshipers access to the Dome of the Rock. (Wafa)

Palestinian authorities closed Monday the Dome of the Rock after an Israeli policeman attempted to force his way into the site.

Israeli provocations continued until Palestinians clashed with occupation forces, which also physically assaulted Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani, Imam of Aqsa Mosque, and besieged the Dome of the Rock mosque.
Tensions continued until the evening when the occupation forces withdrew.

The standoff began shortly after Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel toured the Mosque’s squares accompanied by scores of Jewish settlers guarded by a large force of heavily armed police.

Two Israeli officers then came to the Dome of the Rock for the daily search. One of them was wearing a Jewish Kippah and the guards asked him to take it off before entering the mosque, which he refused and attempted to force his way into the place, prompting the guards to close all the doors.

Head of the public relations office at the Islamic Endowment Department, Firas al-Dibs, indicated that, within their jurisdiction, Aqsa’s guards closed the doors of the mosque. He added that dozens of Israeli police forces besieged the mosque and prevented worshipers, imams, sheikhs, and employees of the Department from entering.

As a result, hundreds of worshipers came to al-Aqsa Mosque and held Dhuhr and Asr prayer in the courtyard. The worshipers then protested closing the mosque and a number of imams and elders came to the place including Imam of Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar al-Kiswani. The soldiers prevented them by force and special forces assaulted Sheikh Kiswani.

Tension grew and some worshipers clashed with the police. Later, in the afternoon, police ended their siege and withdrew from the Mosque.

Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, Sheikh Yousef Adaibis, condemned the violation of the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, its squares and its facilities, by the Israeli occupation police.

He described the incident as an “assault on the feelings of Muslims and their holy sites.”

“These are immoral practices that create more religious incitement inside and outside of Jerusalem,” he said. He also accused Israel of working toward “dividing al-Aqsa Mosque in time and space” between Muslims and Jews.

The Minister called on the international community to restrain Israeli occupation from continuing with such violations and attacks.

The Palestinian Unity Government issued a statement condemning the brutal attack on Sheikh Kiswani and the siege of the Mosque by the occupying forces. It added that this attack falls within “the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation government against Jerusalem and holy sites.”

Government Spokesman, Yousef al-Mahmoud, stressed that the government urges Arab, Islamic, and the governments of the world to take serious action in all international forums and work to end Israeli occupation’s attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque and Islamic and Christian holy sites.



Israel Says No Humanitarian Aid will Enter Gaza

A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP
A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP
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Israel Says No Humanitarian Aid will Enter Gaza

A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP
A wounded Palestinian girl stands amid the debris of her family home after overnight Israeli strikes - AFP

Israel said Wednesday it would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, where a relentless military offensive has turned the Palestinian territory into a "mass grave", a medical charity reported.

Air and ground attacks resumed across the Gaza Strip from March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas that had largely halted hostilities in the territory.

However, Israel has halted the entry of aid into Gaza since March 2, as the humanitarian crisis continues to grow amid ongoing military assaults which rescuers said killed at least 11 people Wednesday.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday Israel would continue preventing aid from entering the besieged territory of 2.4 million people.

"Israel's policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population," Katz said in a statement, AFP reported.

"No one is currently planning to allow any humanitarian aid into Gaza, and there are no preparations to enable such aid."

Top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly cited military pressure as the only way to secure the release of the remaining 58 hostages held in Gaza.

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Israeli military operations and the blockage of aid had transformed Gaza into a graveyard for Palestinians and those who help them.

"Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance," said MSF coordinator Amande Bazerolle.

"With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care," she said.

- 'Worst' humanitarian crisis -

The United Nations had warned on Monday that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began in October 2023.

"The humanitarian situation is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities," said the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In a statement, OCHA said no supplies had reached the territory for a month and a half, and medical supplies, fuel, water and other essentials are in short supply.

Israel tightly controls the entry of vital international aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced since the Israeli offensive resumed.

On April 28, the International Court of Justice is set to open hearings on Israel's humanitarian obligations towards Palestinians.

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution in December requesting that The Hague-based top court give an advisory opinion on the matter.

It calls on the ICJ to clarify what Israel is required to do to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population".

Although ICJ decisions are legally binding, the court has no concrete way of enforcing them. They increase the diplomatic pressure, however.

Israel continued to pound Gaza on Wednesday.