• Assault on Sacred Ground: Worshippers Face Violence Amidst Prayer
• The British government is silent about Israeli aggression against its own people.
British Muslim worshippers were assaulted in the Al Aqsa compound in Bab Al Rahma mosque. According to the victims, 8–10 IOF soldiers with guns had gone into the mosque and dragged Syed Ibrahim, a British citizen and tourist, out of the mosque with brute force. They then interrogated him, asking him lots of questions. In the end, after Syed Ibrahim mentioned he was from the UK, the IOF soldiers said it’s fine and he may re-enter the mosque. It was at this moment, as Syed tried entering the mosque, that the soldiers kicked him on his back thigh and slammed him on his rear delta with a baton. It was during this assault that Ismail, another British tourist, tried to record the incident but was dragged away by soldiers once they saw he was recording. Another British individual who was at the centre of the IOF aggression was Raz, an individual who was pushed multiple times by the IOF and had a gun pointed at him.
Here the British Muslim worshippers describe the abuse they faced in detail.
The reality of the situation is that the majority of the Israeli aggression in the Al Aqsa compound and much of Palestine is done against Palestinians and not tourists. Tourists only make up a fraction of worshippers in Palestine, and the video above demonstrates just a small taste of what Palestinians must go through every day. The reason for Israel’s intimidation and aggression in the Al Aqsa compound is to try to deter Muslim worshippers from entering the compound. A decrease in the number of Muslim worshippers in the compound will make it easier for Israeli authorities to illegally welcome Israeli Jews to pray in the compound and thus fasten the goal of transforming the mosque into a Jewish temple. National Security Minister Ben Gvir has made it ministerial policy to change the status quo of the temple mount. Along with numerous right wing Israeli groups, he believes that the Al-Aqsa Mosque should be demolished and converted into a temple. Israel has already welcomed multiple popular Zionist figures by allowing them to enter the Al Aqsa compound to legitimise its colonialist vision, even when upsetting local Palestinians. Muslims, whether Palestinians or tourists, who continue to worship in the compound are vital in preventing this illegal transformation of the mosque into a temple.
Zionists had claimed that prayers on the 27th night of Ramadhan were peaceful in Al Aqsa mosque, something debunked by people who were present during the night.
Israeli Zionist supporters have claimed that on the 27th night of Ramadhan, one of the holiest nights in the year for Muslims, prayers were peaceful and there was little to no disruption in the Al Aqsa Mosque. Israeli authorities have affirmed their commitment to peaceful prayers for Muslims in the third-holliest site but have been quick to go against their word and official policies. More than 200,000 people prayed in the Al Aqsa compound on the 27th night of Ramadhan, but contrary to popular belief, worshippers did not enjoy the fullof the night peacefully, as video footage has captured an Israeli drone dropping tear gas on worshippers near the middle of the compound.
Video footage shows worshippers fleeing in mass to avoid burns and irritation. One witness who was exposed to the tear gas the previous day has described inhaling the gas as though his lungs were on fire. Only Palestinians aged 40 and over are allowed to enter the Al Aqsa compound, and for those who have health issues or are exposed to large doses of tear gas, the results could be fatal. In many countries, the police force does not employ tear gas because of the dangers it poses to human life. The tear gas shown above was dropped by a drone not on protestors but on worshippers on one of the holiest nights in Ramadan, in the third-holiest site for Muslims. What’s more shocking and inhumane is that it was dropped by a drone near the middle of the compound, where there were more worshippers present. The intent of the Israeli authorities and police force was clear; they planned on causing harm to Muslim worshippers on the holiest night of Ramadan to cause disruption and intimidation to Muslims. The timing of the act shows Israel’s audacity to disrespect Islam and Muslims and highlights the racist supremacist ideology that is harboured within the echelons of power in Israel. Within the crowd of tourists in which the tear gas was dropped were also British tourists. This wasn’t the first time in the last blessed parts of Ramadhan that the Israelis used tear gas against worshippers. A British eyewitness who had breathed in tear gas on a previous day in the compound during this holy month described the gas as making his lungs feel like they were on fire. Both British and tourists from other areas of the globe who were present in the Al Aqsa compound on the 27th night experienced the tear gas being dropped onto them.
Since the incident documented and recorded of worshippers being attacked in Al Aqsa mosque, along with the tear gas being dropped in the presence of British and foreign citizens, UK foreign minister David Cameron has not uttered a word of concern or sympathy for the British Muslim tourists who were in the centre of the aggression. The mainstream media in the West have also chosen not to report on the matter. This underlines the blind eye the UK government is giving to Israel for the atrocities they are committing not just in Jerusalem but also in Gaza itself. This incident against these British Muslim worshippers in the Al Aqsa compound has once again exposed the UK’s complicity in aggression against Palestinians through its cover-up of atrocities and aggression committed by the Israeli authorities.
