#0202_A_View_From_East_Jerusalem
News Digest: Closing of A-Rahma Gate [1]
Monday February 18:
[Excerpts from article:]
"Calls by Palestinians to hold prayers in front of Bab A-Rahma [Gate of Mercy] at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
On Sunday [February 17], the Israeli Occupation forces broke into the Bab A-Rahma area and locked it with locks and iron chains, in an attempt to prevent the Waqf [2] administration from opening it and using it, as well as preparing it for total control.
Palestinian activists call on residents of Jerusalem and those who can reach the blessed al-Aqsa mosque to participate in prayers in the Bab al-Rahma area inside the mosque, starting today's noon prayer as a protest against the oppression of the Occupation.
[…] It should be noted that the Occupation locked the Bab A-Rahma buildings, which lie on the eastern side of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in 2003, and since then the Occupation police have issued a decision to keep it locked for a year, a decision that is renewed continuously.
The Occupation authorities took extensive measures to prevent worshipers from approaching the area, and even prevented the mosque guards from approaching the settlers in the area during the incursions. Due to the declarations issued by the non-profit organizations of the Temple that indicate their intention to take the Bab Al-Rahma area to establish a Jewish synagogue which would be equivalent to a new Western Wall inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque."
️ ️▶️ Source: The Quds News website [11:26 AM]
"Warning,
Bab al-Rahma fell into the hands of the Occupation … We are on the way to a real disaster that will manifest in the construction of a Jewish synagogue in the middle of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which will be called the Bab A-Rahma synagogue.
Where are those who are fighting for the terms of reconciliation? Where are the Arabs who are eager to normalize? Where are the institutions that steal in the name of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa? "
️▶️ Source: Facebook page "Anata News" [01:03 PM]
-"Confrontations with bare hands between worshipers and Occupation soldiers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque"
▶️ Source: Al-Quds Media Center Facebook Page [01:12 PM]
-"Five boys and a woman have been arrested in Al-Aqsa Mosque."
[Selected comments:]
– "Long live your honorable spirit! You are a spark. May God protect you"
▶️ Source: Al-Quds Media Center Facebook Page [01:15 PM]
"After they tried to open Bab A-Rahma, the Occupation attacked some of the young men before arresting them at Al-Aqsa mosque, a short while ago."
️▶️ Source: Facebook Page of the Al-Qods News Network [01:21 PM]
Tuesday Febuary 19:
"The reopening of the external gate of Bab A-Rahma [Gate of Mercy] in Al-Aqsa.
The Occupation police removed the chains and locks placed on the gate leading to Bab A-Rahma inside the Al-Aqsa mosque, which were the cause of the escalation inside the mosque yesterday.
Sheikh Wassef Al-Bakri, Director of the Supreme Judge's Office of Jerusalem, stressed that the contacts with the Jordanian authorities and the Occupation authorities led to the opening of the gate. In addition to restoring the situation that was before the closure and to the release of all those arrested during the assault on worshipers and officials yesterday.
Eyewitnesses added that the Occupation police removed the chains and opened the gate after the Jerusalemites dismantled them, leading to an invasion by a large group of Occupation Police forces into the mosque, forcibly evicting all the worshipers and workers, arresting two women and five men and the imam [3] of a mosque belonging to the Waqf office.
It should be noted that this gate leads to Bab A-Rahma and to the A-Rahma building. Both have been locked since 2003 because of the decision by the Occupation Police, which used to be renewed every six months, before the Occupation judges enforced it [completely] until a final announcement in 2017."
️▶️ Source: The Al-Quds News Network website
"Dozens of [Arab] Jerusalemite detainees were transferred to the Al-Qashla police station in the old city, Jerusalem after being held for more than two hours in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after the evening prayer at Bab Al-Rahma."
️▶️ Source: Facebook Page "Al-Aqsa Association"
"Urgent: the head of the prisoner club in Jerusalem, Nasser Qaws, was wounded during an assault by the Occupation forces at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."
▶️ Source: Al-Mukabber.net
Wednesday Feburary 20:
"Watch: In direct broadcast, Murabitin youths [4] in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque after they broke the locks and iron chains in Bab A-Rahma."
️ ️▶️ Source: Facebook Page 'Almohavar Net'
[Selected comments:]
– "Rising generation ✌"
– "The children of Jerusalem are men, May God protect them"
– "May God guard and strengthen them, but you shouldn't have shown your faces."
________________
Editor's Notes:
[1] Bab A-Rahma is the "Gate of Mercy". It is located south of Bab Al-Asbat [the Lion's Gate] and on the eastern side of the wall. The gates that were seen in the last video were locked by the Israeli security forces on Sunday [February 17] and were reopened the following day after protests and contact with the Jordanian authorities .After the gates opened, the Jordanian Waqf repositioned them.
[2] The term "waqf" means the sanctification of assets for religious purposes. The Jordanian Waqf is the administrative body responsible for managing the Al-Aqsa compound.
[3] Imam is the title of a worship leader of a mosque and Muslim community among Sunni Muslims. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance.
[4] Murabitin – those in the state of 'Ribat', an ancient term in Islam and, in the modern context, means preserving the holy places of Islam by staying in the place and preserving its Islamic character.
#Old_City #Bab_ARahma #Clashes #Arrests
Monday:
https://bit.ly/2V8ekY9
https://bit.ly/2Env2xe
https://bit.ly/2XhH56S
https://bit.ly/2U6QWuh
https://bit.ly/2VhpOsH
Tuesday:
https://bit.ly/2BJJtKj
http://bit.ly/2E23lsm
http://bit.ly/2XhK9jo
Wednesday:
http://bit.ly/2GG3rK2
https://www.facebook.com/1675349376080655/posts/2317753511840235
