Israeli police have reneged on an agreement made with local residents and leaders in Issawiya, occupied East Jerusalem, resuming aggressive raids in recent days.
According to human rights group Ir Amim, after “a modest drop in the police presence and altercations with area residents for approximately one week” at the beginning of the month, “hostile police incursions by para-military forces resumed September 7 for no apparent reason”.
The Palestinian child Sally Odah (12 years old) who was injured by Zionist occupation soldiers storming her town Esaweyah in occupied Jerusalem today , occupied Palestine, 19 September 2019.
Posted by Younes Arar on Thursday, September 19, 2019
Furthermore, Ir Amim added, since September 12,
“[Israeli] paramilitary forces have been operating daily in the neighborhood and have employed severe measures, including the use of stun grenades and tear gas in confined spaces.”
In one incident cited by the organization, Israeli police fired tear gas adjacent to Issawiya’s main mosque during evening prayers, “injuring dozens of Muslim worshippers praying inside”.
Just another night in the Palestinian neighborhood of Issawiya, in occupied East Jerusalem, where the private sphere of the home is routinely invaded & violated by police as a means of control & collective punishment. pic.twitter.com/8mCnbBbMxu
— ??????? ????? -هيذر شارونا (@sharona_weiss) September 16, 2019
In August, after weeks of aggressive raids and operations by Israeli occupation forces in Issawiya, local residents and parents “announced they would refrain from sending their children to school due to the unsafe and hostile environment generated by the constant armed police presence”.
As a result of this pressure, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon agreed with the police that its activity would be reduced, and schools thus opened on September 1.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
