Dozens of Palestinians continue to sit in front of the Lion’s gate leading to the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to protest against the new occupation of the steps of the Israeli authorities, namely against the pass through installed on the inputs of the metal detector.
On the night of 16 July, renewed clashes between believers and the authorities. So, 18 civilians were wounded during attacks by Israeli police officers on worshipers at the Lion gate of the Muslims, several people were arrested and taken to police stations for questioning.
An expert on Jerusalem Affairs Jamal Amru described what happens at this stage as an attempt of Israel to fully occupy the al-Aqsa mosque, setting an absolute control over all its buildings, whether large or small, and applying the harsh measures that violate the rights of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and tramples the dignity of Muslims in General.
In an interview with “al-Mudun” Amru reported that the Muslims, including the residents of Jerusalem, decided not to go through the metal detector, not to consent to this procedure and in no way tolerated. The researcher added that at present, continues to sound the adhan calling Muslims to prayer, but praying does not enter the territory of the mosque in protest against the innovations of the Israeli authorities, as well as the imposition of a ban on entry to the mosque to men under the age of fifty years. Thus, they perform prayers five times a day at the outer gate, while settlers roam freely around the grounds of the mosque.
AMR said that the occupation authorities have established seven frames of metal detectors, which are installed at various entrances to the al-Aqsa mosque, and that still no one has passed through them. Muslims demand that the metal detectors were removed immediately before the situation became explosive.
According to the researcher, the Jordanian authorities continue to exert pressure on Israel that he refused his policies in al-Aqsa mosque, but, in his opinion, this is not enough, since the occupation authorities are extremely tenacious. AMR noted that Arab, Muslim States and the international community as a whole took a strong stance on this issue and supported the Jordan, to prevent the occupation authorities to do whatever they want.
Sources in Jerusalem said that there is an agreement on committing a collective of evening and night prayers near the gates leading to the temple mount, which was attended by a large number of Muslims seeking to Express disagreement with the Israeli attempt to impose a new status quo.
For its part, the General Secretary of the Palestinian national initiative Mustafa Barghouti warned the occupation authorities from trying to control the process of the passage of worshippers to the mosque al-Aqsa, determining the identity, age and the number of visitors to the site.
Barghouti said that what happened in Jerusalem the last few days, it was a kind of “dress rehearsal” and check the reaction of the Arabs. The rehearsal showed that the Arabs do not attach a special importance to the Palestinian issue. However, Barghouti believes that the crucial factor is the position of the Palestinians, and here we must note that the Palestinian authority refused to negotiate with Israel, and to participate in the promotion of the peace process in the light of steps taken by the Israeli side in recent times.
