Palestinians in occupied East al-Quds are in no mood to celebrate the beginning of Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting, as Israel’s offensive has plunged the besieged Gaza Strip into a humanitarian catastrophe.
In contrast to previous years, the usual decorations around the Old City have not been put up and there was a similar somber tone in towns across the occupied West Bank.
Many are just mourning for victims of the Israeli aggression in Gaza, where thousands of people have been killed since October 7.
“We decided this year that the Old City of al-Quds won’t be decorated out of respect for the blood of our children and the elders and the martyrs,” said Ammar Sider, a community leader in the Old City.
Others fear that Israeli authorities and far-right settlers will attack Palestinians across the occupied West Bank during the holy month as part of a broader campaign of collective punishment.
“I’m really worried about possible provocation,” said Munir Nuseibah, a Palestinian human rights lawyer. “We learned from the past that the more there is a police presence and police intervention in East al-Quds during Ramadan, the more we will see [violent] confrontations.”
Israel to send in 15,000 extra soldiers to occupied West Bank
Hard-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir has said he wanted restrictions on worshipers at al-Aqsa.
Thousands of Israeli forces have been deployed around the narrow streets of the Old City in al-Quds, where tens of thousands of worshippers are expected every day at the holy compound.
The Israeli army is deploying 24 battalions, 20 MGB companies and two special units in the occupied West Bank and East a-Quds, as well as 5,000 reservists already stationed in the Palestinian territories.
Azzam Al-Khatib, director general of the Waqf, the religious foundation that oversees al -Aqsa, strongly denounced the Israeli deployment.
“This is our mosque and we must take care of it,” al-Khatib said “We must protect the presence of Muslims at this mosque, who should be able to enter in big numbers peacefully and safely.”
Meanwhile, head of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has called on Palestinians to march to the mosque at the start of Ramadan.
The West Bank has seen record violence for more than two years and a further surge since the war in Gaza.
The Israeli regime has intensified incursions across the West Bank since it began its savage campaign in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. The raids, combined with settler violence, have left more than 400 Palestinians dead.
More than five months into Israel’s air and ground assault on Gaza, health authorities there say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed. Thousands of others are also missing, and are feared dead.
