Sheikh Ikrima Sabri warns of plans to empty neighbourhoods around Al-Aqsa to isolate mosque

Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, the preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque and head of the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem, has warned of growing Israeli settlement plans targeting the Silwan, Batn al-Hawa, al-Bustan and Wadi Hilweh neighbourhoods in occupied Jerusalem.

Sabri said in press statements that the plans form a rapidly expanding settlement belt aimed at emptying the areas immediately surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque and reshaping the area demographically and geographically by imposing what he described as a biblical settlement reality.

He said the Israeli authorities were seeking to dismantle the Palestinian population living closest to the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, using demolitions, evictions and restrictions on construction by Jerusalem residents, while allowing settler groups to take control of properties and land. He said the area was being cleared to make way for archaeological and tourism projects promoting what is known as the City of David.

READ: Turkey says any attack on al-Aqsa mosque is an assault on Turkish values 

Sabri stressed that the struggle in Jerusalem went beyond targeting individual homes or properties, saying it involved completely reshaping the city’s historical and cultural landscape and turning Palestinian neighbourhoods into isolated enclaves surrounded by settlements.

He warned that the international community’s treatment of such measures as “separate planning issues” gave Israel cover to continue its systematic transformation of the area around Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Sabri said the steadfastness of residents of Silwan, al-Bustan and Batn al-Hawa represented the first line of defence for Al-Aqsa Mosque. He called for urgent Arab, Islamic and international action to halt evictions and demolitions and prevent plans to isolate Al-Aqsa from its Palestinian surroundings.

Official Palestinian and UN reports have documented a sharp increase in home demolitions and forced eviction orders in areas of occupied East Jerusalem, often on the grounds of a lack of building permits. This has coincided with a rise in forced self-demolitions, in which residents demolish their own homes to avoid heavy fines.

READ: 14 Arab, Palestinian groups issue urgent appeal to protect Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque amid Israeli escalation