The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas stated that it views with serious concern the Israeli decision to evict Palestinian homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied Jerusalem and the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem’s approval of a plan to build a memorial for Israeli occupation soldiers at the heart of the neighbourhood, displacing dozens of Palestinian families.
Hamas said that "This move is part of a comprehensive settler-colonial plan in the Jerusalem neighbourhood and coincides with threats to demolish dozens of Palestinian houses in the Al-Bustan neighbourhood in Silwan town and the accelerating pace of settlement expansion in a bid to Judaise the holy city."
"The spike in illegal settlement activity in the sacred city and the displacement of Palestinian citizens from their homes in neighbourhoods adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque comes as part of an Israeli settler-colonial project that intends to change the Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim identity of the holy city," the movement added.
In light of this, we, in the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, state the following:
Meanwhile, it saluted Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem and residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood for facing off the Israeli terrorism and called on them to stand steadfast and resilient in the face of the plan to ethnically cleanse the holy city and depopulate it of its indigenous population.
It also called on the Palestinian people, particularly in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948, to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the homes threatened with demolition and face off the Israeli occupation forces with all means possible.
"We warn against the grave repercussions of the Israeli plans targeting Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque, which have been met with support from the consecutive US administrations," the movement underlined.
"We urge the Palestinian Authority (PA) not to bet on the US administration and take serious action against the Israeli schemes targeting occupied Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa Mosque and reinforce the steadfastness of Palestinian Jerusalemites, particularly in the neighbourhoods threatened with Judaisation and demolition."
"We deplore the silence of Arab and Muslim regimes over the new displacement plans implemented by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem," it highlighted. "We believe that the normalisation agreements between some Arab regimes and the Israeli occupation are the reason behind this silence, which has drastically affected the Arab positions towards the Palestinian cause and encouraged the Israeli occupation to continue its crimes."
In addition, it called for the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Arab and Muslim parliaments to assume their responsibilities and focus their attention on the Palestinian cause and place the issue of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque back on top of their list of priorities and support it in all forms.
It also urged the European Union and the international community to exert pressure on the Israeli occupation government to backtrack on demolition and displacement plans against Jerusalem, and it called on the Arab and Muslim world to unify their efforts to defend the Muslims’ first Qibla and third holiest site and direct their compass towards the Palestinian cause.
"We urge Arab and international media outlets to refocus their attention to the Palestinian cause, occupied Jerusalem, and the al-Aqsa Mosque and remind all generations that Palestine is a Palestinian, Arab and Muslim land that is not subject to compromise or extortion and we all have a duty to liberate it," it concluded.
Source : Safa