On the 6th of April, the Israeli police raids on Palestinian worshipers within Al-Aqsa Mosque were denounced by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People Bureau of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a statement from the agency, “Israel's illegal policies and practices have continued to entrench its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967.” In fact, since the beginning of the month, Israeli forces have continuously attacked and harmed civilian places in the occupied areas of Palestine, which in some cases were extremely crowded due to the celebrations of Ramadan.
Moreover, on the 6th of April, when violence spread for the second night in the West Bank, Israeli forces occupied the Mosque and wounded at least 12 people. Afterwards, Israeli forces prevent Palestinians from entering the religious site, while letting Israeli civilians enter under protection. As affirmed by the UN bureau, this also represents a violation of international law as they must “respect the freedom of all worshippers to access the religious sites in accordance with established parameters”. In addition, according to a statement from the Palestinian Commission of Detainees Affairs, at least 397 of the 450 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities during a raid on Tuesday night have been freed with a one-week entry prohibition to Al-Aqsa Mosque. Six Palestinians from the occupied city of Jerusalem have had their custody and questioning extended, while 47 inmates from the occupied West Bank have been moved to the military prison of Ofer. According to what has been reported by Al-Jazeera, “the conditions of arrest and detention are humiliating and inhumane, and no medical attention is being provided to the injured detainees.”
For now, tensions remain high in the region and the UN is worried that the situation could escalate. Particularly, the organisation is closely monitoring and recording the attacks against civilians and the number of people who have been arrested by Israeli forces.
To read more, visit:
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/05/middleeast/israel-al-aqsa-mosque-clash-intl-hnk/index.html
by Alexia Tenneriello
