The month of September will be harsh on Palestinians living in the West Bank and Jerusalem as Israelis mark a bunch of Jewish holidays from September 16th to October 7th.
Thorough preparations are currently underway for the 16-day Jewish holidays, which will fall out predominantly across the Old City of Jerusalem, showing a flagrant violation of Islamic sanctities and a brutal onslaught of Muslim worshippers.
These Jewish holidays will last 16 days, starting mid-September with the Islamic New Year. Gedaliah Fast will be two days later; the Day of Atonement will be marked on September 25th, “Rosh Hashanah holiday” will be on September 30th, Hoshana Rabbah on October 6th, Hoshana Rabbah on October 6th, and finally ending on October 7th with the joy of the Torah holiday.
According to the Information Centre for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Affairs, “This month of holidays is deemed a fertile season of brutal attacks and gross violations against Palestinians”.
“The days ahead are fraught with difficulty for Jerusalem, particularly for the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque,” cautioned Fakhri Abu Diab, a distinguished specialist in Jerusalem affairs.
What Would Happen?
A reputable Jerusalemite researcher, Jamal Amr, has drawn attention to the Israeli occupation government’s leverage of the Jewish holidays as a pretext to perpetrate its aggressive actions against Jerusalemites. “The spike in the number of intruders at the Al-Aqsa Mosque is accompanied by a glaring escalation in the public performance of Jewish biblical rituals,” he pointed out.
During September, the Old City of Jerusalem, the flashpoint plaza where settlers usually gather to celebrate their occasions, will be filled with well-armed soldiers and fraught with military jeeps that constantly guard and pave the way for settlers’ extensive incursions.
Palestinians who dare to fend off any settlers’ violations will be under arbitrary arrests, intimidating threats and onslaught and ultimately dragged into prisons’ harsh investigation. Others, including renowned activists, will even receive no permits to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray as deportation orders will come into force to facilitate settlers’ ways.
Meanwhile, extremist Israeli settlers will be given the green light to freely blow the trumpet and perform provocative dances, hostile behaviours, Talmudic rituals, and epic prostration, which markedly provoke Muslims’ feelings, prompting confrontations.
It’s Money, not Religion
Head of the Jerusalem Anti-Judaism Authority, Nasser Al-Hadmi, has underscored that the Israeli society is secular, but it links politics to religion in a bid to make the best out of the religious narrative in mobilizing more settlers.”
“Most of the Israeli settlers who had previously planned and carried out incursions were essentially not religious Jews,” he confirmed.
“Under the pretext of marking these holidays, each Israeli settler posing to participate will be paid $150 to ensure his/her existence in Al-Aqsa courtyards,” said Saleh Shweiki, an advocate for Jerusalem in Inma’a institution.
“Israeli occupation has allocated a substantial budget to support 20 settlement groups that call for the ongoing storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the upcoming holidays,” Shweiki added.
Several videos taken during last year’s Jewish holidays exposed Israel’s barbaric suppression of worshippers and massive havoc in the furniture of Al-Aqsa and nearby praying halls; claims were raised by the settlers that the worshippers were hindering their spiritual atmosphere.
During August 2023 only, The Israeli occupation forces and settlers committed 3,180 violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, according to data published by the Palestinian Information Center “Ma’ta.”
The report monitored 28 attacks on places of worship and holy sites, adding that Israeli occupation forces closed 54 roads or areas and set up about 423 military checkpoints in various areas of the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
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