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SvennoJ on 26 February 2025
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Israel planning ‘unprecedented’ repressive measures before Ramadan: Jerusalem governorate

Israeli authorities are preparing to “impose unprecedented repressive policies”, in advance of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which is expected to start on Saturday, to further isolate occupied East Jerusalem and its Palestinian surroundings, according to the Jerusalem governorate.

The Palestinian Authority’s governing body said in a statement that occupation authorities are planning “a series of racist and provocative measures”, including limiting the number of Muslim worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

It said recently released Palestinian prisoners would be banned from entering Al-Aqsa, and entry for worshippers from the occupied West Bank would be restricted based on age, with only men aged 55 and above and women more than 50 years of age allowed in.

Israeli forces are also intensifying their presence by deploying 3,000 armed personnel at checkpoints surrounding East Jerusalem on a daily basis and tightening their grip on 82 military checkpoints, including by using earthen blockades, iron gates, security cameras and intrusive searches.

“The governorate urges Arab and Islamic nations, as well as the international community, to take responsibility and act urgently to halt these violations.”

Israel arbitrarily arrests, humiliates, tortures Gaza’s healthcare workers: Israeli monitor

Dr Khaled Alserr’s voice strained as he recalled the way Israeli soldiers tortured and humiliated him and other medics.

Their treatment “was designed to humiliate us”, the 33-year-old surgeon said over an unstable online call. “They forced us to make the sound of a donkey.”

Dr Alserr had been arrested along with other healthcare workers at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in March last year, where they had stayed to care for their patients despite an Israeli assault on the hospital in February.

Rights groups say the arrests are part of Israel’s deliberate targeting of healthcare workers, pointing to the arrests of more than 250 people.

In its report, Torture of Medical Workers in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights, Israel (PHRI) has catalogued the arbitrary detention and abuse of healthcare workers in Gaza.


PA condemns Israeli obstruction of ambulances in West Bank

The Palestinian Authority says the repeated obstruction of ambulances in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces constitutes another violation of international humanitarian law.

We reported earlier how the UN has also expressed “serious concern” about Israeli attacks in the occupied territory that affect healthcare. Those attacks have been on the rise in recent weeks amid large-scale military incursions.