A report by the National Popular Conference for Jerusalem warns of the seriousness of ongoing violations in the Holy City

Jerusalem - "Al-Quds" dot com - The Media Department of the National Popular Conference for Jerusalem issued a detailed report on the continuous Israeli violations in the city of Jerusalem and its surroundings, including demolition and settlement operations, incursions into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Judaization in the Old City, seizure of UNRWA headquarters, Israelization of the Palestinian curriculum, and other unprecedented aggression against the eternal capital of the independent Palestinian state. The report stated that occupied Jerusalem has been witnessing an unprecedented escalation in Israeli policies and measures aimed at imposing a new demographic and geographical reality for years, through intensifying settlement, expanding Judaization operations, and restricting Palestinian residents in various aspects of life. These policies have escalated remarkably during the last two years, to include the Old City, various neighborhoods of Jerusalem, the vicinity of Qalandia and Airport Road, in addition to Bedouin communities in the eastern region of Jerusalem, in parallel with continuous attacks on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, demolition and forced displacement operations, and violations at military checkpoints, as well as the serious economic deterioration resulting from the siege, closure, and decline in foreign religious tourism. In this context, field data confirm that the Israeli occupation authorities seek to impose final facts on the ground, by accelerating settlement projects and linking major settlements to West Jerusalem, which leads to isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, and undermining the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Settlement and Judaization The report indicated that the occupation government continues to implement large-scale settlement plans in occupied Jerusalem, targeting the Old City and its surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods, as well as strategic areas such as Jabal Al-Mukaber, Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, Issawiya, Umm Tuba, Beit Hanina, Qalandia, and Airport Road. Human rights reports indicate that the occupation authorities have recently approved thousands of new settlement units, as part of a plan aimed at strengthening the Jewish majority in occupied Jerusalem, and linking the settlements surrounding the city within an integrated settlement belt. Work also continues on the "E1" settlement project east of Jerusalem, which threatens to separate the northern West Bank from its south, and effectively eliminates the possibility of geographical contiguity for the future Palestinian state. In the Old City, the seizure of Palestinian properties by settlement associations is escalating, especially in the neighborhoods of Silwan, Batn al-Hawa, and Wadi Hilweh, where Israeli courts are used to displace Palestinian families in favor of settlers. Excavations also continue beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings, as part of attempts to change the historical and religious character of the city. As for the Qalandia area and Airport Road, the report stated that the occupation authorities are working to implement huge settlement projects aimed at establishing thousands of settlement units on the lands of the historic airport, which leads to separating Jerusalem from Ramallah, and closing any possibility of Palestinian urban expansion in the northern part of the city. The report of the National Popular Conference for Jerusalem added: In the Bedouin communities east of Jerusalem, especially the areas of Jahalin, Khan al-Ahmar, and the vicinity of "Ma'ale Adumim," residents face the constant threat of forced displacement. International reports indicate that about 80 Bedouin families are threatened with eviction in favor of settlement expansion, as part of a project aimed at linking the "Ma'ale Adumim" settlement to West Jerusalem. Incursions into the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque During the last year, Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed a serious escalation in the number of extremist settlers who stormed it, under direct protection from the Israeli occupation forces. According to documented reports, more than 30,000 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque by the end of September 2025, amidst performing public religious rituals within its courtyards, raising provocative slogans, and repeated attempts to impose temporal and spatial division of the blessed mosque. In October alone, more than 10,822 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is one of the highest numbers recorded in recent years. In December 2025, 6,260 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in one month, including 2,805 during the "Hanukkah" holiday, where the mosque's courtyards witnessed public religious rituals and lighting of candles inside Al-Aqsa, in a blatant violation of the existing historical and legal status quo. The report of the National Popular Conference for Jerusalem indicated that these incursions are accompanied by repressive measures against worshipers and those stationed there, including expulsion from Al-Aqsa Mosque, arrests, physical assaults, and preventing thousands of Palestinians from accessing the mosque through military checkpoints. Arrests, Martyrs, and Injuries The occupation authorities continue to carry out daily arrest campaigns in occupied Jerusalem, targeting youth, children, women, and activists, in addition to imposing house arrest and expulsion from Al-Aqsa and the Old City. According to documented data, 434 arrests were recorded in Jerusalem by the end of September 2025, including 85 administrative arrests, in addition to 133 expulsion orders from Al-Aqsa Mosque. In October alone, the occupation forces arrested 87 Jerusalemites, and injured 40 others during daily incursions and confrontations. A number of Jerusalemite martyrs also fell during field killings and direct shooting, amidst an escalating policy of field executions against Palestinians, especially at military checkpoints and friction areas. Military Checkpoints and Abuse of Citizens Jerusalemites suffer daily from the policy of closure and restriction through military checkpoints spread around Jerusalem and its entrances, especially the Qalandia, Za'ayyem, Hizma, and Container checkpoints. The occupation forces deliberately obstruct the movement of citizens, and humiliate workers, students, and patients, through humiliating searches and detention for long hours, and sudden closure of checkpoints, which disrupts economic, social, and educational life. Physical and verbal assaults on citizens are also repeated, in light of tightening restrictions on the entry of Palestinians into Jerusalem, and preventing thousands of citizens from accessing Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially during Ramadan and holidays. Demolition Policy and Self-Demolition The occupation authorities continue to use the policy of demolishing homes and facilities as a tool of pressure and forced displacement against Palestinians in Jerusalem. In recent months, demolition operations have escalated significantly, as reports documented dozens of demolition operations in various neighborhoods of Jerusalem, including forced self-demolition operations that forced Palestinian families to demolish their homes with their own hands to avoid exorbitant fines. In August 2025, 30 demolition operations were recorded, including 15 cases of forced self-demolition. December 2025 also recorded the demolition of 46 facilities in Jerusalem Governorate, including 6 self-demolition operations. According to monitoring reports, the number of property demolition operations reached about 116 by the end of September 2025, in addition to dozens of eviction orders and land seizures. This policy aims to force Palestinians to forcibly leave the city, as part of a plan to reduce the Palestinian presence and strengthen settlement expansion. Education in Jerusalem The education sector in Jerusalem faces serious challenges as a result of Israeli policies aimed at obliterating the Palestinian national identity and imposing the Israeli curriculum on Jerusalemite schools. The occupation authorities continue to restrict Palestinian schools by reducing budgets, preventing licenses, and imposing distorted curricula, in addition to storming schools and arresting students. Schools also suffer from a severe shortage of classrooms and infrastructure, in light of severe overcrowding and high dropout rates. In Christian schools, Jerusalemite educational institutions warned of a worsening crisis due to preventing the issuance of permits for teachers coming from the West Bank, which threatens the continuity of the educational process in a number of historical schools in the city. Economic Conditions and Decline in Tourism Occupied Jerusalem is witnessing a suffocating economic crisis as a result of the siege, closure, and strict Israeli restrictions, in addition to an unprecedented decline in commercial and tourist movement. The report indicated that Jerusalemite markets, especially in the Old City, were affected by the decline in the number of visitors and Christian and Muslim pilgrims coming from abroad, in light of the ongoing war and strict security measures. It added that the cessation of foreign religious tourism caused huge losses for merchants, hotel and restaurant owners, and artisans, as large sectors of the Jerusalemite economy depend on religious and tourist seasons. Jerusalemite workers also suffer from increasing difficulties in reaching their workplaces due to checkpoints and closures, in addition to rising unemployment and poverty rates, and a decline in the purchasing power of residents. Jerusalemite economists confirm that the occupation uses economic tools as a means of pressure to weaken the steadfastness of Jerusalemites and push them to emigrate outside the city. A Reading of the General Scene The report considered that all these policies reveal a comprehensive Israeli strategy aimed at changing the Arab, Islamic, and Christian identity of Jerusalem, and imposing new demographic and political realities through settlement, displacement, and repression. It added: Settlement is expanding at an accelerated pace, Al-Aqsa is subjected to unprecedented incursions, and the Jerusalemite economy is gradually collapsing, while Palestinians face daily arrests, demolitions, and restrictions at checkpoints. In contrast, Jerusalemites continue to adhere to their land and national identity, despite the harsh conditions and continuous violations. Targeting UNRWA and Palestinian Institutions in Jerusalem As part of a systematic policy aimed at undermining the official and national Palestinian presence in occupied Jerusalem, the Israeli occupation authorities have recently escalated their measures against the institutions of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in addition to continuing to close national and historical Palestinian institutions in the city. The occupation's decision to ban UNRWA's work in East Jerusalem came into effect at the beginning of 2025, after forcing the agency to evacuate its headquarters and facilities, and ending the work of its international staff within the city. The occupation authorities also closed a number of the agency's schools in Shuafat refugee camp and other areas of Jerusalem, in a move that threatens the right of thousands of Palestinian students to education and basic services. Data indicate that the occupation seeks to end UNRWA's historical, political, and humanitarian role in Jerusalem, as an international witness to the Palestinian refugee issue, and an attempt to erase the refugee issue and the right of return from any future settlement. The Israeli government has also begun allocating alternative budgets and programs to control the education, health, and service sectors that the agency used to provide in occupied East Jerusalem. In a related context, the policy of closing official and national Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem has continued for years, as the occupation authorities continue to extend closure decisions against prominent institutions such as "Orient House," the "Chamber of Commerce," the "Supreme Council for Tourism," the "Prisoner's Club," the "Palestinian Center for Studies," the Office of Social and Statistical Studies, and other institutions that have for decades been a symbol of the Palestinian national presence in the city. "Orient House" is considered one of the most prominent Palestinian institutions targeted by the occupation, due to its political and historical role as a Palestinian national headquarters in Jerusalem, while the closure of other institutions has weakened Palestinian social, cultural, human rights, and economic work within the occupied city. Observers believe that the occupation aims through these policies to empty Jerusalem of any Palestinian national authority, and impose full control over its political, cultural, and social life, in parallel with Judaization and settlement projects and restrictions on Palestinian residents. Major General Bilal Al-Natsha: An open war targeting humans, land, holy sites, and national identity In his comment on these violations, the Secretary-General of the National Popular Conference for Jerusalem, Bilal Al-Natsha, affirmed that what is happening in Jerusalem represents "an open war targeting humans, land, holy sites, and Palestinian national identity," stressing that the occupation seeks to impose a fait accompli by force through settlement, displacement, and economic restrictions. Al-Natsha added that "Jerusalem is facing the most dangerous stages of Judaization since its occupation in 1967, in light of the escalation of incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, the acceleration of settlement projects, and demolition and displacement operations affecting Palestinian neighborhoods and Bedouin communities." He pointed out that the continued international silence encourages the occupation to continue its violations, calling for urgent Arab, Islamic, and international action to protect Jerusalem and its holy sites, and support the steadfastness of its people economically, politically, and legally. Al-Natsha affirmed that the Palestinian people will continue to defend Jerusalem no matter the sacrifices, and that the city will remain the symbol of Palestinian national identity and the capital of the independent Palestinian state.