Israeli Police Attack Palestinians Celebrating Isra Wal Miraj in Jerusalem

Palestinians celebrating Isra Wal Miraj at Bab al-Aomud (Wafa)
Palestinians celebrating Isra Wal Miraj at Bab al-Aomud (Wafa)
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Israeli Police Attack Palestinians Celebrating Isra Wal Miraj in Jerusalem

Palestinians celebrating Isra Wal Miraj at Bab al-Aomud (Wafa)
Palestinians celebrating Isra Wal Miraj at Bab al-Aomud (Wafa)

Israeli police attacked Palestinians at Bab al-Amoud in Jerusalem who were celebrating al-Isra Wal Miraj Muslim holiday, a religious festival marking Prophet Mohammad's journey to the heavens.

Tensions grew in the city as more people arrived at al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli police assaulted and clashed with the Palestinians before bringing a sewage water vehicle to disperse the protesters.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured and others were detained. Sources in Jerusalem said the occupation forces arrested at least four civilians, including a child, after assaulting them.

Clashes also erupted in other areas in the Old City as the number of Palestinians arriving at the Mosque to celebrate the occasion increased, including Jerusalemites and residents from the West Bank.

Thousands of Palestinians performed the noon prayer at al-Aqsa Mosque and participated in religious celebrations.

Meanwhile, the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood is witnessing tensions for the second week after far-right Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the area and established a makeshift office on the land of Salem's family.

Ben Gvir insists on staying in the neighborhood, despite the tensions that led to widespread confrontations and warnings of Israeli officials that it might escalate the situation in the West Bank and break the calm in the Gaza Strip, as happened last year before the 11-day Gaza war.

The confrontations in Bab al-Amoud raise doubts about an Israeli decision to reduce tensions in the region before Ramadan, which this year falls at the beginning of April.

The Israeli authorities had decided to forgo the iron barriers at the Bab al-Amoud area this year during Ramadan month. It will instead allow cultural activities, including opening Ramadan tents and kiosks selling food and sweets, to maintain calm.

However, the Palestinians' first celebration in the region held after the decision was met with police violence.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."