‘Very sad’ Ramadan begins in Gaza without ceasefire
Sami Al-Arian, director of the Centre for Islamic and Global Affairs, has told Al Jazeera that it is a “very sad moment” in Gaza as Ramadan begins without a ceasefire and for many on the brink of famine.
“Unfortunately, Israel does not see the Palestinians as human beings; they say they are ‘human animals’. They do not see the human side to Palestinians – they have been violating their rights left and right,” he said.
“Even US President Biden has been trying to tell them, ‘Please stop for six weeks at least, let Ramadan be a peaceful month this time around,’ and they [Israel] continue to say no.”
Palestinians in occupied West Bank welcome sombre Ramadan
Palestinians in the West Bank are taking part in a more sombre Ramadan this year, in light of the Israeli war on Gaza, shunning decorations and focusing more on prayer and religious customs, says Ahmed Sharaf, lecturer at the College of Science and Islamic Studies at An-Najah University.
“Ramadan came this year as Palestinians face economic hardships as a result of tightening Israeli closures of Palestinian cities and towns and the prevention of Palestinian workers from working inside Israel,” he told Al Jazeera.
“It also came as Palestinians in Gaza are on the verge of famine, and many are dying of malnutrition and dehydration. Muslims all over the world should do whatever they can to support them whether through providing aid or through supplication to God to lift the calamity from our people.”
Extremely tense scenes in Jerusalem as Ramadan begins
Footage seems to indicate that people are not being allowed through certain entrances towards al-Aqsa Mosque inside Jerusalem’s Old City. The Old City is not being decorated this year in light of events in Gaza, and the security presence last night across Jerusalem was extremely intense with a large number of vehicles on the streets in occupied East Jerusalem.
Palestinians have been saying that they’ve been fasting for five months, it’s not something that will begin with Ramadan this year.
A lot of that optimism about a ceasefire before Ramadan came from President Biden but he’s had to walk back on that. Israel has not commented on whether its officials will be travelling to Cairo for another round of talks. And a member of Hamas I spoke to said that they have not yet been invited by the Egyptians to continue negotiations.
Palestinians blocked from praying at Al-Aqsa on eve of Ramadan
Security of Al-Aqsa Mosque moved from Ben-Gvir to Netanyahu
Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor at Qatar University, says after pressure from the US and European countries, there was a debate within the Israeli government which made the far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, no longer in charge of Al-Aqsa Mosque and gave Netanyahu full responsibility.
“This happened last night after two to three weeks of discussion behind closed doors between the Americans, the Europeans and the Israelis about this particular issue because Americans have no interest in seeing the West Bank as basically another Gaza,” Zweiri told Al Jazeera. “If the Israelis do not listen to the Americans, [the] West Bank is likely to become another Gaza in a matter of months.”
He added that the security assessment that Netanyahu backed, shared by the Israeli security service Shin Bet and intelligence service Mossad, found that the more Palestinians are allowed into Al-Aqsa Mosque, the less “confrontational situation”, which was convincing in part due to the pressure from the US.
Israel’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound restrictions push towards ‘explosion’: Jordan
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has said restrictions imposed by Israel on Muslim worshippers’ access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim fasting month was pushing the situation towards an “explosion”.
In remarks on state media, Safadi said his country rejected Israel’s announced move to limit access to the holy site during Ramadan, citing security needs with war raging in Gaza. Jordan echoes the Palestinian view that such restrictions were an attack on freedom of worship, he said.
Gallant says Israel ‘respects the freedom of worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque’
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says in a video address that his country “respects the freedom of worship at Al-Aqsa [Mosque complex] and all the holy places”.
This comes after Israel limited access to Islam’s third holiest site to Muslim worshippers during Ramadan, citing security needs with war raging in Gaza.
