Israel accused of attempting to 'erase' Palestinian Muslim identity
Israel is waging a systematic campaign of violence, destruction and persecution that threatens to erase the religious and cultural identities of Palestinian Muslims, according to a report to be published on Friday.
The report, by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a UK-based legal advocacy campaign group, found that Palestinian Muslims throughout the occupied territories and Israel had faced escalating anti-Muslim discrimination since October 2023, following the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel and the launch of Israel’s assault on Gaza.
It said Muslims had been subjected to increased persecution during the current holy month of Ramadan, citing an attack in February by settlers on a mosque in Nablus, punitive measures restricting access to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, and the detention by Israeli security forces of more than 100 Palestinians during the first week of the month.
In Israel, rights of religious freedom were under threat from legislation brought by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir which aimed to ban the call to prayer, as well as amendments to counter-terrorism laws which had led to Palestinians being accused of supporting Hamas for quoting verses from the Quran, the report said.
It echoed calls by United Nations bodies and human rights organisations for Israel to immediately end attacks on cultural and religious sites and to respect the religious rights of Palestinians, citing the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice last year which called on Israel to immediately end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
“The clampdown on religious freedom of expression contributes to the erasure of Palestinian Muslim identity and religious customs, extending apartheid practices into every facet of Palestinian Muslim life,” the report said.
It accused Israeli forces of targeting mosques and religious sites in Gaza as a “core objective of Israel’s genocide … and part of a concerted Israeli campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in the enclave”.
It said 1,160 out of Gaza’s 1,244 mosques had been destroyed or heavily damaged since the start of the war, often killing civilians, many of them women and children, who had sought safety inside.
“Israel’s strategic targeting of mosques in Gaza has led to heightened civilian killings by Israel, due to the fact that mosques serve as places of refuge with large civilian populations and high numbers of women and children sheltering from Israeli bombardments,” it said.
The Palestinian health ministry says that more than 72,000 people have been killed and more than 171,000 injured in Gaza since the start of the war, with women, children and elderly people accounting for more than half of those killed.
Mosques in the West Bank had also been deliberately targeted, the report said, citing an air strike that severely damaged Al-Ansar Mosque in Jenin in October 2023. Israeli authorities had also aided and abetted a number of attacks on mosques by settlers, it said.
'Religious apartheid'
The report highlighted restrictions imposed by Israel limiting Palestinians’ access to Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, which it said violated the authority of the Islamic Waqf, the religious body responsible for managing the site.
It said that only 2,000 people had been permitted to pass through the main checkpoint between the West Bank and East Jerusalem to pray on the first Friday of Ramadan.
Last week, Israeli police closed all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, citing the security situation following the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel, drawing condemnation from Muslim-majority nations which described the measures as “illegal and unjustified”.
Israel had imposed other restrictions on Ramadan-related traditions such as banning lanterns and decorations in the alleyways of the Old City, and banning “mesaharati”, volunteers who walk through the streets beating a drum before dawn to wake people up for the pre-fast meal.
The ICJP’s report noted that Israeli authorities had permitted raucous celebrations marking the Jewish festival of Purim to take place elsewhere in Jerusalem.
“In contrast the streets of the Old City were deserted, despite the fact they would usually be filled with Palestinian Muslims celebrating Ramadan. This represents a clear example of religious apartheid.”
Dania Abu ElHaj, the ICJP’s senior legal officer who is currently in Jerusalem, told Middle East Eye: "It is becoming increasingly difficult to evade - even momentarily - Israel’s entrenched military grip on Palestinian life that has turned the entirety of the occupied Palestinian territory into an open-air prison for those living there.
"At a time when Muslims would normally be focused on the spiritual reflection of the last 10 days of Ramadan and preparing for Eid, many Palestinians instead find themselves once again facing questions of survival."
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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