GENEVA, Tuesday, April 02, 2019 (WAFA) - The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) said yesterday in a report documenting Israeli violations of the Palestinian population in occupied East Jerusalem in February that rights of Palestinians are regularly violated.
The report highlighted Israeli practices against the Palestinian population, such as the arbitrary ban on entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque, house arrests, right to worship, demolition of homes, banning events under various pretexts, night raids at homes and arrests without warrants, among other practices.
The report, titled "Israel is continuing to restrict the right to freedom of worship for Muslims in Jerusalem", said February witnessed deliberate Israeli policies against Palestinians in Jerusalem that included restrictions on freedoms and their right to practicing religious, social and political activities.
The report highlighted, in particular, the events that took place in Bab al-Rahma prayer area inside Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a Muslim holy place located in Jerusalem’s Old City, and the accompanying attacks on worshipers and restrictions on their religious freedom. It documented the closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli authorities for 12 hours and presented testimonies and photographs of dozens of worshipers who had been assaulted, detained and deported because of their demand to keep Bab al-Rahma open for Muslim prayer and free worship.
The Euro-Med explained that the Israeli authorities continue to practice harsh arbitrary policies against the Palestinians in the city of Jerusalem with regard to their homes seeking to displace them by refraining from issuing building permits and demolishing their homes and shops.
It monitored the issuance of demolition orders by the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem in February and the demolition of several Palestinian-owned properties in East Jerusalem under the pretext of building without permits.
The Israeli actions against the Palestinian population in Jerusalem violate their rights to live in dignity and violate their civil, political and religious rights as well as a violation of international laws prohibiting such practices, said Euro-Med.
It called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards Jerusalem and its Palestinian population, protect them as residents of an occupied area under Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and called for immediate steps to protect the legal status of the Holy City and to consider Israeli practices and procedures in the city as arbitrary and void.
M.K.
