Israel bans Sheikh Hussein from Al-Aqsa Mosque over sermon condemning Gaza starvation
Israeli authorities issued a six-month ban on Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territory, from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque. According to the Wafa news agency, the Jerusalem Governorate, quoting lawyer Khaldoun Najm, said the ban on Hussein follows the expiration of his eight-day ban.
This most recent ban was imposed after his Friday sermon, where he condemned Israel’s starvation policy against Palestinians in Gaza. Last week, Hussein was handed an initial eight-day expulsion order from the mosque. The order has now been extended for six months.
Israel’s illegal settlement expansion push part of plan to annex West Bank
Hagit Ofran, a member of Israeli group Peace Now, has warned that Israel’s push to approve a major new settlement bloc in what’s known as the E1 corridor would effectively sever the northern and southern portions of the occupied West Bank.
The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee held a final hearing on the E1 plan today, and it is expected to approve it in the coming days.
Israel plans to build more than 3,000 illegal Israeli settlement units in the E1 area, between the major settlement of Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem.
“What we’re seeing since 1967 and especially in recent years is that Israel is continuing to build and build settlements in the West Bank in order to annex the West Bank into Israel. In fact, the West Bank is already de facto annexed,” Ofran told Al Jazeera.
She added that in addition to building settlements, Israel is also treating Palestinians in the West Bank “as people without rights under Israeli control and allowing the organised violence of [Israeli] settlers against Palestinians” in the area.
Slovenia bans all imports from Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank
Slovenia has become the first European country to announce a ban on all imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. “The actions of the Israeli government … constitute serious and repeated violations of international humanitarian law,” the government said in a statement.
“These actions not only endanger the lives and dignity of the Palestinian population but also the foundations of the international order. As a responsible member of the international community, Slovenia cannot and must not be part of a chain that enables or turns a blind eye to such practices.”
This is the latest move the Eastern European country has taken to step up pressure on Israel. In July, it declared two far-right ministers persona non grata and banned arms trade and the transit of Israeli-bound weapons through its territory.
Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon acknowledged that the ban is rather symbolic – imports from the occupied West Bank totalled 30,000 euros last year (about $34,900), according to the Slovenia Times – but said the policy sends a “clear message” to Israel and the international community.
Why only from illegal settlements, all of Israel is committing genocide.
