The Public Relations and Media Unit in the Jerusalem Governorate issued its report during the first half of the year 2024, on the crimes of the Israeli occupation in the Jerusalem Governorate, in which it summarized the overall violations observed in the neighborhoods and towns of the governorate.
Martyrs and the file of bodies detained by the occupation:
The occupation never hesitates to display its crimes in all ugliness in front of the entire world. One of the ugliest things that the Israeli occupation commits is ending the life of the Palestinian wherever they are found. In Jerusalem, during the first half of the year 2024, (23) martyrs rose in the Jerusalem Governorate, including: ( 5) From outside the governorate, and (10) children, the youngest of whom is a girl who is not more than 4 years old. During the first half of the year 2024, the occupation forces executed: Muhammad Abu Eid (32 years old) and his wife Doha Abu Eid (26 years old), the child Ruqaya Abu Dahuk (3 years old), the child Suleiman Kanaan (17 years old), and the child Wadih Owaisat (14 years old). years), Muhammad Khadour (19 years old), the child Muhammad Abu Sneina (16 years old), Fadi Jamjoum (40 years old), Muhammad Manasra (31 years old), the child Mustafa Abu Shalbak (16 years old), the child Rami Al-Halhouli (13 years old), The young man Zaid Khalifa (23 years old), the child Abdullah Assaf (16 years old), the child Nour Shihabi (17 years old), and the child Muhammad Hoshiya (12 years old). From outside the governorate, 5 martyrs died on the land of Jerusalem: Muhammad Zawahra (26 years old), Ahmed Al-Wahsh (31 years old), Nizar Hasasneh (34 years old), the child Mustafa Talib (15 years old), Turkish tourist Hassan Scalanan (34 years old), and Rami. Taqatqa (44 years old). In the Gaza Strip, the child Janan Abu Sneina rose, as did the freed prisoner who was deported to the Gaza Strip, Zakaria Najib.
File of martyrs whose bodies are being held:
The occupation authorities are still detaining the bodies of (41) Jerusalemite martyrs until the end of the first half of the year 2024, in occupation refrigerators and number cemeteries.
Colonial attacks:
The attacks of Jewish colonialists and extremists on Palestinians in general and on the people of Jerusalem Governorate in particular are increasing, in light of the failure of the occupation police to arrest the aggressors among them, and the fascist occupation government even deliberately provides a cover for their criminal racist practices.
During the first half of 2024, the Jerusalem Governorate monitored about (73) attacks by colonists, including (10) attacks with physical harm.
Injuries:
During the first half of the year 2024, the Jerusalem Governorate monitored injuries resulting from the occupation’s use of excessive force against Jerusalemites. (79) injuries were monitored as a result of live and rubber-coated metal bullets and severe beatings, in addition to cases of gas suffocation.
Crimes against Al-Aqsa Mosque:
In a clear and clear violation of the sanctity of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the colonists’ raids will continue during the first half of the year 2024, as 25,054 colonists and 19,118 colonists stormed the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the name of “tourism” during the fait accompli imposed by the occupation, called the morning and evening periods, with the support of the occupation police, during which they performed Prayers and Talmudic rituals, they performed prayers for the Israeli prisoners and dead soldiers, and they wore costumes during their storming of the Blessed Mosque on the days of the so-called “Purim” holiday.
During the first half of the year 2024, the occupation authorities continued their siege of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which they imposed since the seventh of last October by restricting the entry of Muslim worshipers into it. The occupation forces are stationed at all times at the gates of Al-Aqsa, placing iron barriers, stopping arrivals and trying to obstruct their entry to it, and preventing this at many times, especially during prayer times. In conjunction with this ban and restrictions on Muslims entering Al-Aqsa, the colonists’ incursions into it through the Mughariba Gate continue.
During the first half of the year, the occupation forces restricted worshipers during Fridays. The occupation authorities continued to impose restrictions on the freedom of worship and the entry of worshipers into Al-Aqsa. They erected barriers at the doors of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and at the entrances and roads of the Old City and the neighborhoods close to it, and assaulted the worshipers on more than one occasion by beating them. Payment and arrest.
During the first half of the year, the occupation authorities imposed restrictions on the number of participants allowed in “the funeral - accompanying the body, carrying it, and praying over it” inside Al-Aqsa - as the number of people allowed to enter was ed to a maximum of 10 people.
During the month of Ramadan, the occupation prevented worshipers from the West Bank from accessing Al-Aqsa Mosque except through restrictions: including age, as the age was set for men over 55 years old and women over 50 years old, and issuing special permits for prayer that expire at five o’clock in the evening, meaning that the worshiper is able to perform the noon and afternoon prayers. He is forced to leave Jerusalem before performing the Maghrib, Isha, and Tarawih prayers.
During the month of Ramadan, the occupation forces stormed Al-Qibli Mosque more than once, and expelled those in seclusion inside it, especially on the days that fell and coincided with the so-called “Purim” holiday. On March 27, the occupation announced its decision to close Al-Aqsa Mosque, in the face of incursions by extremist groups, starting on Thursday and for a period of 16 days. It is noteworthy that the occupation used to close the door to incursions during the last ten days of Ramadan every year, and there were demands from extremist colonialists to cancel this policy this year and not Closing the Mubarak Mosque in the face of intrusions.
Israeli occupation crimes against Christian sanctities:
The violations of the occupation authorities and the attacks of the colonialists against Christian holy sites and Christians in occupied Jerusalem continue, without any serious intervention from the occupation authorities to prevent these attacks, which encourages them to continue their attacks without deterrence or punishment. During the first half of the year 2024, a number of attacks on Christian places and sanctities were monitored. On February 3, colonialists attacked a German monk, the cleric Father Nicodemus Schnabel, the head of the Benedictine monks in the Holy Land, and assaulted him by spitting and insulting Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, while he was walking in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.
During March, the occupation prevented thousands of Christians this year from arriving in Jerusalem to celebrate Easter - according to the Western calendar - Palm Sunday, the Via Dolorosa, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and to participate in religious rituals. The occupation refused to issue entry permits to Jerusalem for Christian Palestinians residing in the West Bank except in ed numbers and under restrictive conditions.
On May 3, the occupation forces tightened their measures and installed iron barriers with the aim of restricting Christians observing the “sad” Good Friday.
On May 4, the occupation forces deployed their checkpoints in the roads and gates of the Old City in occupied Jerusalem to restrict the Christian population on the occasion of the celebration of “Holy Saturday” according to the Eastern calendar. The occupation forces also obstructed the arrival of Christian Jerusalemites to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, restricted their celebration of Holy Saturday, and attacked Christian residents in the vicinity of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in occupied Jerusalem. The occupation forces arrested the Greek consul’s guard from inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in occupied Jerusalem.
The occupation authorities restricted the arrival of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank to participate in Holy Saturday celebrations in Jerusalem. They erected barriers and iron barricades and ed the number of participants inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. They also assaulted the participants and arrested a number of them in a barbaric manner.
The Eastern Christians had announced the cancellation of celebrations and ed them to religious rituals out of respect for Gaza and its bleeding blood, so the scouts roamed the neighborhoods of Jerusalem without a sound, while the “wedding” ceremony was held from the Christian neighborhood to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to the sound of national and religious chants.
During June, the occupation municipality handed over to the heads of churches in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Nazareth, and Ramla a decision that the occupation municipality would take legal measures against them for non-payment of real estate taxes (arnona), in contravention of the status quo agreement and international laws.
Targeting national and Islamic figures:
Under the far-right government led by flocks of colonialists, the occupation authorities continue their attempts to impose sovereignty over Jerusalem and its sanctities with the aim of imposing a new reality, and continue their racist policy against the national symbols of Jerusalem, led by the Governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, upon whom the occupation has imposed an open house arrest order in his home since August 4, 2022, without specifying a time period for the decision. One of the last decisions issued against Ghaith was a decision to renew his deportation from the West Bank for a new period of 4 months, until next September 16.
The occupation authorities also targeted a number of national and Islamic figures, most notably: the secretary of the Fatah movement in occupied Jerusalem, Shadi Al-Mtour. The unjust occupation courts ruled that Al-Mtour be imprisoned for 20 days under the pretext of visiting a hostile country. He then surrendered himself to the occupation authorities to implement the unjust sentence against him, which he will spend in the Negev prison. As of the preparation of this report, the former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Engineer Khaled Abu Arafa, the former Jerusalemite MP Ahmed Attoun, Sheikh Ikrimah Sabri, the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque and head of the Islamic Authority in Jerusalem, and the Jerusalemite Sheikh Youssef Makharz,... The occupation police also attacked participants in commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the passing of the Emir of Jerusalem, Faisal Al-Husseini, by beating and pushing them, which led to the injury of the director of the Prisoner Club, Nasser Qaws, and Ishaq Al-Qawasmi, an employee of Orient House.
Arrests:
During the first half of the year 2024, (708) cases of arrest were monitored in all areas of Jerusalem Governorate, including (73) children and (37) women.
Decisions of the occupation courts:
The occupation courts impose unfair decisions against detainees, ranging from issuing actual prison sentences and imposing house arrest, in addition to deportation decisions and heavy financial fines. Among them are those against whom the occupation court issued travel bans, in addition to extending the detention of a large number of detainees for long months and perhaps years without delay. Bring clear charges against them.
Actual prison sentences:
The report monitored the issuance of racist occupation courts (205) actual prison sentences against Jerusalemite prisoners, including (135) administrative detention sentences, “that is, without clearly specifying charges against them.”
One of the highest sentences issued by the occupation authorities during the first half was the sentence issued against the Jerusalem prisoner Rashid Al-Rishq for a period of 13 years and 10 months.
During the first half of the year 2024, an increase in the frequency of actual imprisonment sentences was observed compared to previous years, as 64 rulings were recorded in the first half of the year 2021, including 25 administrative detention decisions, and in the first half of the year 2022, 133 decisions were recorded, including 36 administrative detention decisions. First half of 2023: 192 sentences, including 76 administrative detentions.
This indicates the increase in the pace of punitive measures against Jerusalemites, especially in judicial rulings, and the exploitation of the current time, especially after October 7, to impose these sanctions, and the exploitation of the entire world’s preoccupation with the crimes of genocide and war crimes occurring in the Gaza Strip.
Home detention decisions:
Monitoring (28) house arrest decisions issued by the occupation authorities during the first half of 2024.
Deportation decisions:
The occupation authorities use the deportation decisions they issue as a means to suppress the Palestinian presence in the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Old City, Damascus Gate and other targeted neighborhoods. The occupation authorities issued 54 deportation decisions, 31 of which were deportation from Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Travel ban decisions:
During the first half of 2024, 5 travel ban decisions were monitored
Demolition and bulldozing operations:
During the first half of the year 2024, the number of demolition operations in the Jerusalem Governorate reached (127) demolition and bulldozing operations, including: (42 forced self-demolition operations) and (73 demolition operations carried out by occupation mechanisms), in addition to 12 bulldozing operations.
The occupation authorities generally justify the demolition of homes under the pretext of erecting them without a license, although it is rare to grant approval for the necessary licenses to build homes for Jerusalemites.
Violations against Jerusalem institutions and monuments:
In continuous attempts to undermine the efforts of Jerusalemites inside the occupied capital, the occupation continues the policy of closing the institutions operating there and suppressing activities that prove the presence and steadfastness of Jerusalemites in the occupied city.
Among the most prominent of these attacks during the first half of the year 2024: targeting educational institutions and Jerusalemite students, fighting the Palestinian curriculum, attacking religious places and obliterating their landmarks, in addition to incitement and hate speech, incitement against international institutions in Jerusalem (UNRWA), attacks against journalists, and obliterating the city’s landmarks. Assault on national events.
Colonial projects:
In its relentless and insanely accelerating endeavor to impose a new reality on the occupied city of Jerusalem and Judaize it through the implementation of dangerous colonial projects, and during the first half of the year 2024, the occupation authorities approved (13) new settlement projects, in addition to starting the implementation of more than 9 approved projects. Earlier, the occupation authorities also completed work on two colonial projects.