RAMALLAH, September 2, 2025 (WAFA) – The Jerusalem Governorate has Tuesday issued a report that monitored the violations of the Israeli occupation in the governorate during August 2025, which focused on arrests, actual imprisonment decisions, demolitions, eviction orders, deportation and house arrest decisions, in addition to massive settlement projects, the most dangerous of which is the E1 project.
Settler Attacks:
The Jerusalem Governorate documented (59) attacks carried out by settlers during August 2025, including (7) physical assaults. These included storming Al-Aqsa Mosque, organizing provocative marches in the Old City, and attacks against citizens and property. These attacks fall within an organized policy implemented by terrorist settler groups, supported by the far-right occupation government, which provides them with legal and political cover and openly encourages them to commit crimes against Palestinians.
Several Israeli officials and extremists participated in these violations, including Knesset members and ministers in the occupation government, reflecting official state support for these settlement practices.
Injuries:
In the context of the grave and escalating violations committed by the Israeli occupation authorities in occupied Jerusalem, in blatant breach of its obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law, the Jerusalem Governorate recorded (25) injuries against Jerusalemites during August 2025. These included live and rubber bullet wounds, as well as fainting cases caused by sound bombs and tear gas. These violations demonstrate that the far-right occupation government has unleashed its forces to carry out assaults against Palestinians under legal cover and military protection, reflecting official complicity and a deliberate policy of impunity.
Crimes and Violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque:
August 2025 witnessed a systematic escalation in Israeli assaults on Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jerusalem Governorate documented (8,617) settlers storming the mosque’s courtyards, in addition to (2,495) others who entered under the cover of so-called “tourism,” as part of a Judaization policy aimed at imposing occupation sovereignty over the mosque.
These violations peaked on the anniversary of the so-called “Destruction of the Temple,” when around (3,969) settlers participated in large-scale incursions under heavy protection from occupation forces. These included public and provocative religious rituals such as “lighting the menorah,” “epic prostration,” blowing the “shofar,” and the introduction of Torah symbols like “Torah scrolls” and the “Ark of the Covenant,” along with raising Israeli flags and slogans of the alleged temple.
The violations also included organizing weddings, night tours, and musical performances in temple priest attire, in blatant violation of the existing historical and legal status quo, and in grave breach of international law and UN resolutions, threatening to ignite a dangerous religious conflict in the region.
The Jerusalem Governorate confirms that these violations constitute a flagrant breach of the existing historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, a violation of international law and UN resolutions, and warns that their continuation threatens to spark a religious conflict in the region.
Targeting National Figures in Jerusalem:
During August 2025, the Jerusalem Governorate documented continued occupation policies targeting Palestinian religious and national figures, in an effort to impose severe restrictions on free Jerusalemite discourse and reduce its influence.
• On August 1, occupation forces arrested the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque and judge at the Jerusalem Sharia Court, Sheikh Iyad Al-Abbasi, threatening him against addressing the aggression on Gaza in his sermons, before releasing him later.
• On August 6, occupation authorities issued a six-month ban on the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, preventing him from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the pretext of “posing a danger to the public” following his sermon on July 25.
• On August 20, the occupation escalated its targeting of national leadership in Jerusalem by renewing a ban on the Governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith, preventing him from entering the West Bank for the seventh consecutive year, as part of exclusion and isolation policies.
• On the same day, occupation intelligence summoned the Secretary of Fatah in Jerusalem, Shadi Mutour, for interrogation, handing him a renewed ban on entering the West Bank.
Arrest Cases:
The Jerusalem Governorate documented a significant escalation in repression and arrest policies carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities during August 2025, with (32) Palestinians arrested, including (4) children and (2) women.
Occupation Court Decisions Against Detainees:
Occupation courts imposed unjust rulings against detainees, including actual imprisonment, house arrest, deportation orders, heavy fines, and in some cases travel bans. Many detainees had their detention extended for long months or even years without being charged.
Actual Imprisonment:
The Jerusalem Governorate documented (17) actual prison sentences issued against Jerusalemite prisoners during August 2025, including (12) administrative detention orders (without charge). These rulings reflect the occupation’s escalating policy of targeting detainees, exacerbating their suffering.
House Arrest:
In August 2025, the occupation authorities issued (3) house arrest orders.
Deportation Orders:
The occupation issued (7) deportation orders against Palestinians in August 2025, including (4) banning entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Travel Bans:
Under the pretext of “security reasons,” the occupation issued (2) travel bans during August 2025, targeting Palestinians, especially in occupied Jerusalem.
Demolition, Bulldozing, and Property Confiscation:
The occupation carried out (30) demolition and bulldozing operations, including (12) forced self-demolitions, where Palestinians were compelled to destroy their own homes to avoid heavy fines, and (16) demolitions carried out by occupation bulldozers, in addition to (2) land leveling operations targeting Palestinian lands and roads, under the pretext of “unlicensed construction.” Meanwhile, the occupation imposes severe restrictions that make obtaining building permits nearly impossible for Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Demolition, Forced Eviction, and Land Confiscation Orders:
During August 2025, the Jerusalem Governorate documented (93) notices, including (92) demolition orders and (1) land confiscation order, mainly in the neighborhoods of Silwan, Issawiya, Al-Eizariya, Sur Baher, Umm Tuba, and Qalandiya.
Crimes and Violations Against Jerusalem Institutions and Landmarks:
Occupied Jerusalem witnessed a systematic escalation of Israeli assaults during August 2025 targeting religious, educational, and Christian institutions, professional unions, as well as national leaders and preachers. This comes as part of a policy aimed at undermining Jerusalemite identity and tightening control over the religious and civic landscape in the city. These assaults included raids, arrests, deportation orders, as well as financial and legal restrictions on churches, posing serious threats to the Palestinian presence in the city.
Colonial Settlement Projects:
During August 2025, the Jerusalem Governorate documented a total of (17) colonial settlement plans, based on daily monitoring of official announcements by the so-called “Civil Administration and Jerusalem Municipality,” in addition to East Jerusalem YMCA documentation. These plans included five depositions, three approved plans, two pending approval, three settlement projects inaugurated, one project launched, and three put up for tender—all within Jerusalem, its suburbs, and settlements built on Palestinian land.
The settlement plan in the “E1” area east of occupied Jerusalem is among the most dangerous Israeli projects, aimed at undermining Palestinian presence in and around the city. It extends over about 12,000 dunums, covering lands of Issawiya, Al-Tur, Anata, Al-Eizariya, and Abu Dis. The project aims to create direct geographic continuity between the Ma’ale Adumim settlement and occupied Jerusalem within a network connecting eastern settlement blocs, while severing territorial continuity between the northern and southern West Bank.
The project forms part of the “Greater Jerusalem” plan, which seeks to consolidate Israeli control over East Jerusalem by creating the so-called “eastern ring” of settlements, preventing any Palestinian neighborhood expansion to the east, and linking with the “Eastern Gateway” plan that extends to Highway 1 at the expense of Shuafat and Anata lands.
K.T
