Fears are growing over a potential flare-up following a call by Hamas for mass mobilization toward the holy site
MAR 15, 2024 – The Cradle
(Photo credit: AA)
Israeli forces prevented thousands of Palestinians from prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on 15 March, the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
Tel Aviv strengthened its massive police presence across occupied Jerusalem on Friday following a call by Hamas for all Palestinians to defend Al-Aqsa against Israeli desecration.
As a result, Israel is gearing up for a potential outbreak of violence in the occupied holy city on Friday.
Eyewitnesses reported “a significant deployment of Israeli troops around the Qalandiya checkpoint to the north of Jerusalem, the Zeitoun checkpoint to its east, and Bethlehem to its south. Thousands of worshippers were turned back and denied access to the city under the pretext of not having the necessary permits,” according to WAFA news agency.
The outlet also reported a deployment of thousands of Israeli officers across the alleys of Jerusalem’s Old City, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and its gates – aimed at restricting the entry of worshippers.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas called on Thursday evening for all Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and all occupied territories to mobilize in defense of Al-Aqsa Mosque – which is besieged and subjected to frequent army and settler incursions.
Hamas called on the “masses of our Palestinian people throughout the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the occupied interior for general mobilization … toward the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to … seclude themselves there, and prevent all attempts of the occupation to desecrate it and impose its aggressive plans.”
The Islamic Waqf organization said that tens of thousands of Palestinians are expected to arrive at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday for evening prayers.
Tel Aviv announced Monday that Palestinian access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque will be limited to men over 55, women over 50, and children under 10. Israeli forces also began installing barricades and barbed wire around the holy site this week.
Worshippers heading toward the mosque were beaten and harassed by Israeli troops on Friday morning.
Medical teams were prevented from reaching the area surrounding the mosque.
A number of Palestinians were kidnapped from the courtyards inside the holy site late on Thursday evening.
Despite the Israeli restrictions, thousands of Palestinians managed to pray at the holy site on Friday morning at dawn.
This year, Israeli fears over a flare-up are greater given the ongoing war in Gaza and regional tensions, which have seen other fronts from Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq open against Israel.
In April 2023, rockets struck Israel from Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon within days after Israeli police raided and brutally beat worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan.
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Israel’s desperate fan club attempt to redefine ‘Extremism’
Well, they are the experts.
- Vererans Today
March 16, 2024
VT Condemns the ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINIANS by USA/Israel
$ 280 BILLION US TAXPAYER DOLLARS INVESTED since 1948 in US/Israeli Ethnic Cleansing and Occupation Operation; $ 150B direct “aid” and $ 130B in “Offense” contracts
Source: Embassy of Israel, Washington, D.C. and US Department of State.
Michael Gove is the UK’s Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and he’s been tinkering with the meaning of ‘extremism’ to see if he can squeeze political advantage out of it for his doomed party and his own misguided ideology.
He saw an opportunity in all the noisy pushing and shoving between Muslims and Jews as a result of the human misery and despair generated by Israel’s insane genocide in Gaza.
Gove has just introduced a New Extremism Definition to Parliament. His ministerial statement mentions the “October 7 terror attacks in Israel” 3 times in as many paragraphs, including the headline. I searched frantically for corresponding references to the hundreds of Israeli terror attacks on Gaza and massacres in the West Bank but found none.
You see, Gove has described himself as “a proud Zionist” with a desire to “celebrate everything that Israel and the Jewish people have brought to the life of this world, so his stance is pitifully lopsided. I agree with him about the wonderful contribution by some Jewish people. But Israel? What planet is he on?
Of course, he’s a member of Conservative Friends of Israel and condemns the peaceful Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel as antisemitic. Gove has also said jihadist terrorists “hate Israel, and they wish to wipe out the Jewish people’s home, not because of what Israel does but because of what Israel is – free, democratic, liberal and western.” Yep, I think he must be on Pluto. Or something stronger.
Gove hopes his New Definition will ensure the Government are “not inadvertently providing a platform, funding or legitimacy to groups or individuals who attempt to advance extremist ideologies that negate our fundamental rights and freedoms and overturn the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy”. Surely the real risk to our liberal democracy is Gove’s own extremist ideology imported from the hateful apartheid regime that’s been making life hell in the Holy Land for 76 years.
That’s not all. The enforcer of the New Definition is Lord Walney, described as the Government’s “independent” adviser on political violence and disruption. He’s been dispatched to persuade political leaders to ban their MPs from engaging with the Palestine solidarity movement. But milord Walney (aka John Zak Woodcock) is a former chairman of Labour Friends of Israel and can hardly be called independent.
No, you couldn’t make it up. And yes, law experts will have a field day tearing it apart.
Stuart Littlewood
15 March 2024
After working on jet fighters in the RAF Stuart became an industrial marketing specialist with manufacturing companies and consultancy firms. He also “indulged himself” as a newspaper columnist.
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BIG BROTHER in the 21. Century 