The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the Israeli government's decision to allow Jewish settler groups to enter the yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. PCHR further condemns the use of excessive force by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against Palestinian civilians who attempted to prevent the provocative entry of settlers into the Mosque. PCHR reminds of similar incidents that took place 9 years ago when the former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, entered the yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque. This incident sparked the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Mosque, in which thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed or wounded. PCHR calls upon the international community to immediately intervene and pressurize Israeli occupation authorities to stop all settlement activities in occupied Jerusalem.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 07:30 on Sunday, 27 September 2009, at least 40 Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli Police and Border Guards, attempted to break into the yards of al-Aqsa Mosque through the al-Maghariba Gate. A number of Palestinian civilians who were present in the mosque were able to prevent the settlers from entering. Soon after, the Israeli police and border guards violently broke into the yards of the Mosque firing rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs at Palestinian civilians. They also violently beat a number of civilians. As a result, 3 Palestinian civilians were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets:
1) Mohammed al-Joulani, 73, wounded in the eye;
2) Rami Saleh al-Fakhouri, 20, wounded in the eye; and
3) 'Aadel al-Silwadi, 31, wounded in the chest.
Additionally, at least 20 civilians sustained bruises as they were violently beaten. IOF closed the gates of the al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem fence, and did not allow Palestinian civilians to enter the old town or the al-Aqsa Mosque.
PCHR strongly condemns Israel's decision to allow settlers to enter the yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque, and the use of excessive force against Palestinian civilians, and stresses that:
1) East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian Territories that were occupied by Israel following the June 1967 war.
2) Measures taken by Israeli occupation authorities following the occupation of the city, in the foremost, the Israeli Knesset's decision on 28 June 1967 to annex the city, its decision on 30 July 1980 considering "complete and united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel" and the decision to expand the municipal boundaries, are flagrant violations of international law and United Nations resolutions.
3) Measures and plans implemented by Israeli occupation authorities in occupied Jerusalem can never change its legal status.
4) Article 53 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), and Article 16 of Protocol II prohibit "committing any acts of hostility directed against the historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples."
5) Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 prevents the Occupying Power from "deporting or transferring parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."
In light of the above:
1) PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, jointly or individually, to fulfill their legal and moral obligations to ensure Israel's respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) according to Article 1 of the Convention, and believes that the international silence and inaction encourage Israel to act as a State above law and perpetrate more violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law, including efforts intended to establish a Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem.
2) PCHR calls upon the international community to immediately act to force the Israeli government to stop all settlement activities in the OPT, especially in East Jerusalem, and to dismantle existing settlements, the existence of which constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law.
3) PCHR calls upon the European Union and/or its Member States to activate Article 2 of the Euro-Israeli Association Agreement, which links continuous economic cooperation between the two parties with Israel's respect for human rights, and to stop dealing with Israeli products, especially those produced in Israeli settlements in the OPT, including occupied East Jerusalem.
For more information please call
PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail:
pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org