'Israel' ups plans to Judaize Al-Quds: 2,000 arrested, 877 expelled
4 Min Read
The Israeli occupation arrests of Palestinians in occupied Al-Quds in 2023 account for 47% of total arrests across the entire occupied territories.
-
An Israeli occupation soldier holding raising a baton at Al-Aqsa Holy Mosque in occupied Al-Quds, Palestine (AFP)
The Israeli occupation entity has ramped up its Judaization plans in occupied Al-Quds, having issued 877 forced-expulsion orders since the beginning of 2023 against Palestinians residing in the city, the Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies revealed on Wednesday.
According to the Center, most residents targeted by the decisions live in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Holy Mosque, the Old City, and their surrounding areas.
Arrests against Palestinian residents of occupied Al-Quds have escalated within the same period as well and have constituted about 47% of the total arrests across all the occupied territories, the Center added.
Read more: 530 arrests against Palestinians, including 42 children, in July only
According to the Center, 2,000 cases of arrests in the Palestinian capital have been recorded this year, including 465 minors and 58 females.
Riyad Al-Ashqar, the Center's Director, explained that the arrests were not limited to one demographic, adding that they included children, women, Islamic and national leaders, and even the sick and the elderly.
The occupation authorities also pursued the policy of "arresting prisoners immediately following their release after the end of their sentences," he said, adding that 21 were released on the condition of leaving their homes in occupied Al-Quds and away from the city, not taking part in Palestinian celebrations or holding the Palestinian flags.
Read more: Number of life-sentenced Palestinian prisoners rises to 556
In the past nine months, the occupation entity's courts issued over 248 house arrest orders for various periods, as well as 100 administrative orders, including new sentences and the extension of old ones.
Al-Ashqar pointed out that among the detainees this year are 10 Palestinians, including women and children, who are suffering from injuries sustained by Israeli occupation forces, which also include bullet wounds, some of serious nature.
Among the individuals was 16-year-old Wadih Aziz Abu Ramoz from Silwan, who was announced martyred two days after an IOF attack on the village in January. Ramoz was arrested after being injured during confrontations in the town, and his body was detained for five months before handing it over to his family.
Read more: 'Israel' arrested over 50,000 Palestinian children since 1967
In July, Israeli occupation forces opened fire on a Palestinian woman near the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Al-Quds under the pretext that she was bound to execute a stabbing operation.
After being shot, the 50-year-old Samira Harbawi was detained before she was taken to an unknown destination.
Harbawi became the latest Palestinian to be detained while injured.
Exhaust Palestinians from defending Al-Quds
Al-Ashqar further revealed that the occupation authorities carried out brutal attacks this year against both current and liberated detainees from occupied Al-Quds and their families, as IOF raided the homes of dozens and systemically confiscated their money and private property under the pretext of receiving it from the Palestinian Authority.
Gold and silver jewelry, collectibles, toys, vehicles, and motorcycles were stolen by the IOF, in addition to seizing the bank accounts of dozens of prisoners and their families without informing them, the Center's Director noted.
In its monthly report on arrests, the Palestinian Center stated that the occupation’s criminal practices against Palestinian residents of occupied Al-Quds, foremost of which are the arrests, aim to exhaust the city's residents and deter them from defending the city against Israeli terrorism and from confronting the escalating incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque and the emptying of the city from its people.
The campaign also comes as a continuation of the direct targeting of Al-Aqsa, the sanctities, the Palestinian presence, and the historical and religious status of the holy city, the report concluded.
