JERUSALEM, Thursday, May 13, 2021 (WAFA) – Israeli police today assaulted and detained at least five Palestinians from the occupied city of Jerusalem, according to local and medical sources.
Police rounded up three members of the Darwish family, including two girls, after storming and ransacking their house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya.
Two brothers were brutally beaten up by police and settlers before being detained in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Musrara. One of the detainees suffers from a foot injury, and is slated to undergo a surgery.
Meanwhile, three Palestinians sustained bruises and fractures in confrontations with the police. One of the casualties was rushed to a hospital for treatment, as confirmed by the Palestinian Red Crescent.
In Jenin district, a Palestinian was detained today afternoon after being stopped at a military checkpoint between Zababda and Qabatiya towns, south of Jenin.
Jerusalemite Palestinians recently held protests in solidarity with 40 Palestinians, including 10 children, who face forced ethnic expulsions from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to replace them with entirely Israeli settlers.
The Israeli Supreme Court, which could be liable for war crimes its policies supporting the dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinians, a war crime under international law, postponed a ruling on the case to next Monday, which happens to also be Israel’s Jerusalem Day, celebrating the occupation of East Jerusalem following the 1967 war.
Tensions have escalated in Jerusalem since the start of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, with night-time clashes between police and worshippers in the East Jerusalem following the police decision to ban people from sitting on the stairs outside Bab al-Amoud, also known as Damascus Gate, under the guise of implementing the coronavirus restrictions, and its decision to disconnect the power supply to the call to prayer at the mosque compound.
For many Palestinians in Jerusalem and across the occupied Palestinian territory, Ramadan is directly connected to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound houses both the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque and is considered the third holiest site in Islam.
Al-Aqsa is located in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian territories that have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)