Middle East Monitor / April 7, 2022
The Palestinian Authority (PA) said yesterday that Israel conditioned “incentives” in Jerusalem to Palestinian “submission” to Israeli “coexistence” in the occupied city.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, the PA said that the so-called “incentives are not more than a show off measures aimed to whitewash the Israeli occupation and its brutal violations against Palestinians.”
The statement cited the ongoing Israeli “torture, violation, terrorism and crackdown campaigns which are being practiced by the state of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people.”
Israel is going after prominent Palestinian figures and officials in Jerusalem, the statement said, as well as closing Palestinian institutions in the holy city.
“The Israeli occupation is practicing enforced expulsion and is trying to end the Palestinian existence in Area C,” the statement said.
“The Israeli incentives ensure that Israel is kidnapping Jerusalem and has been working to isolate it from its Palestinian surroundings and restricting the movement of Palestinians; mainly those heading to perform prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
According to the statement, the PA said that the “apparent incentives” prove that Israel is imposing full closure against the Palestinians and such measures aim at easing their life to the degree that perpetuates their submission to the test of coexistence with the occupation.
Under the new rules, Palestinian women from the occupied West Bank will be allowed to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers without a permit, while males aged over 50 and under 12 will be allowed to enter for prayers without a permit once. Men between the ages of 40 and 49 will require a permit.
The rules will be enforced next week and security officials will meet again to consider expanding them during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
