OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
The Old City in occupied Jerusalem is witnessing a continuous escalation in Israeli measures, after the installation of a new iron gate between Souq Al-Qattanin and Bab Al-Hadid, one of the most prominent paths leading to the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, in a step that has sparked widespread concern among Jerusalemites who consider it part of a policy aimed at imposing more control over movement inside the Old City.
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) proceeded to install the gate with the participation of its municipal crews, within field measures that Jerusalemites believe go beyond the security character, to fall within the framework of reshaping the geographical and demographic reality of Jerusalem.
System of control
In this context, Jerusalem affairs expert Jamal Amr said that the gate system imposed by the IOA in Palestine is now being used on a wide scale and within multiple levels, such that each gate carries a specific color and security significance, within a system aimed at controlling and restricting Palestinian movement.
Amr explained in an interview with the PIC that these gates are often closed on the Palestinian side, while they are opened to Israelis and settlers, reflecting the nature of the security control imposed on the ground.
Amr pointed out that the gate policy is no longer limited to city entrances or major checkpoints, but has extended inside a single city and between the neighborhoods themselves, along with the separation wall gates, reaching the gates of the Old City in occupied Jerusalem. He added that the Old City, despite its area being less than one square kilometer, is dotted with gates and military towers, especially in the Bab Al-Amud area, in an attempt to isolate it from its Palestinian surroundings.
He pointed out that the IOA recently began imposing iron gates between Souq Al-Qattanin and Bab Al-Hadid, within measures aimed at tightening security control over the area. He noted that the goal of this step is to control who is allowed to enter Souq Al-Qattanin, and organize access to the area overlooking the Western Wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque, where there is a section opposite Bab Al-Hadid used by settlers and religious Jews to perform Talmudic rituals.
He added that these measures come to provide what the IOA described as security protection for the settlers present in the area, which imposes significant security tightening at Bab Al-Hadid and inside Souq Al-Qattanin, through military points and intensive monitoring to protect those participating in Talmudic rituals.
Amr confirmed that Souq Al-Qattanin is considered one of the most sensitive and strategic sites in the Old City, given its direct view of the Dome of the Rock, considering that what is happening carries clear security and sovereignty dimensions, aiming to impose more control and command over the place, and consolidate Israeli hegemony within the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The gate as a tool for control
Jerusalemite activist Nasser Qous said that the new gate represents a direct tool for controlling the movement of Palestinians inside the Old City, explaining that it gives the settlers and the IOA the ability to close the vital passage at any time, which imposes restrictions on residents, worshipers, and merchants.
He added that the danger of the measure is not limited to the security aspect, but extends to the impact on the daily lives of Jerusalemites, by isolating some houses and main passages, and forcing residents to use longer and more complex alternative routes to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque or move within the Old City.
The passage connecting Souq Al-Qattanin and Bab Al-Hadid is one of the most important historical paths leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque, as it witnesses heavy daily movement of worshipers, merchants, and residents of the Old City.
Checkpoints and settlement outposts inside Palestinian neighborhoods
Jerusalemite estimates indicate that the new gate comes within a series of checkpoints and military points that have spread inside the Old City, coinciding with the expansion of settlement outposts in the vicinity of Palestinian neighborhoods, especially near Hawsh Doudo and the passages leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Jerusalemites believe that these measures aim to tighten control over the movement of Palestinians inside the Old City, and turn historical neighborhoods and markets into areas subject to continuous surveillance and closures.
Recalling the electronic gates uprising
The Israeli step brought back to the minds of Palestinians the events of 2017, when the electronic gates uprising broke out in rejection of the IOA attempt to impose electronic gates at the doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque to control the entry of worshipers, before it backed down under the pressure of widespread popular protests.
However, Jerusalemites emphasize that what is happening today goes beyond the idea of electronic gates, towards imposing gates and field barriers inside neighborhoods and markets, which redraws the internal geography of the Old City and restricts the movement of its residents.
Policies target changing the demographic reality
For his part, the specialist researcher in settlement affairs, Khalil Al-Tafakji, said that the Israeli measures in Jerusalem, including checkpoints, security tightening, and the expansion of settlement activity, aim to reshape the demographic reality in the city, and gradually push Palestinians to leave the Old City towards areas north of Jerusalem.
He explained in a statement to our correspondent that the conflict in Jerusalem takes on a demographic character in the first degree, in light of continuous Israeli attempts to increase the Jewish presence inside the city at the expense of the Palestinian residents, within plans that have expanded significantly since 2017 under the title saving Jerusalem.
Al-Tafakji pointed out that these policies include projects to merge the western and eastern parts of Jerusalem via road networks, infrastructure, and settlement expansion, which deepens the isolation of Palestinian neighborhoods and undermines the chances of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state.
Al-Tafakji suggested that Israel would move towards applying a model similar to what exists in the city of al-Khalil inside Jerusalem, benefiting from the current political and security conditions, especially after Israeli decisions on expanding the powers of the Civil Administration inside the Old City in al-Khalil.
