Groups Of Illegal Israeli Jewish Settlers Stormed The Courtyards Of Al-Aqsa Mosque In The Occupied East Jerusalem Under The Protection Of Israeli Police On Thursday.
A Palestinian medical doctor was shot and injured by Israeli occupation forces in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
The doctor was shot in the thigh with live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers as he was leaving a house, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. He was transferred to nearby Ibn Sina Hospital for treatment.
Also on Thursday, Israeli occupation forces raided the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, where they set up a military checkpoint and issued fines to several Palestinian vehicles, according to WAFA.
YOUNG MAN DETAINED
In the Old City of Nablus, Israeli occupation forces detained a young man after surrounding a house in the city.
Ibrahim Habash was detained after Israeli army special forces infiltrated the al-Qaysariya neighborhood in the Old City and surrounded the house where he was staying, WAFA reported. This was followed by a raid by Israeli military vehicles into the Old City and its surrounding areas, the report added.
Palestinian authorities estimate that more than 9,300 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including more than 50 women and about 350 children, in addition to those kept in Israeli army camps, according to the Anadolu news agency.
ILLEGAL SETTLERS STORM AL-AQSA
Also on Thursday, groups of illegal Israeli Jewish settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem under the protection of Israeli police, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing WAFA.
The report said the illegal settlers entered the compound in groups, carried out provocative tours and performed Talmudic rituals while heavily guarded by Israeli occupation forces.
On Tuesday, the Jerusalem Governorate said that a total of 182 illegal Israeli settlers forced their way into the flashpoint site during morning and evening incursions and performed Talmudic rituals near the Dome of the Rock in the complex under the protection of Israeli police.
The governorate also noted that 778 foreign tourists also entered the mosque through a gate operated by the Israeli occupation authorities.
According to official figures, 4,266 illegal settlers and around 15,000 foreign tourists accessed the mosque compound during November.
SETTLEMENT EXPANSION
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation authorities approved the construction of 764 new settlement units in the central West Bank, Israeli media, cited by Anadolu, reported on Wednesday.
According to Channel 7, the government’s Higher Planning Council agreed to build 478 settler homes in the settlement of Hashmonaim, west of Ramallah in the central West Bank, 230 homes in Beitar Illit and 56 units in Giv’at Ze’ev.
There was no official Israeli statement on the building, the report stated.
Israeli settlement construction has surged across the occupied West Bank since Benjamin Netanyahu’s current government took power at the end of 2022.
Local media said that 51,370 settler homes have been approved across the occupied territory since the beginning of the current government’s term.
According to data from the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now, more than 700,000 illegal settlers live in the West Bank, including around 250,000 in East Jerusalem, Anadolu reported.
In a landmark opinion in July last year, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Hidden History -- In The Making 