Occupation forces ban journalist Jalajel from Al-Aqsa for a week after his arrest in its courtyards

As part of an ongoing campaign of repression within and around Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israeli occupation forces, this Thursday evening, arrested journalist Ahmed Jalajel from inside the mosque's courtyards in occupied Jerusalem.

According to local sources, occupation forces stopped journalist Jalajel while he was in Al-Aqsa Mosque, before taking him to an interrogation center. He was later released on condition of being banned from Al-Aqsa Mosque for a week, renewable.

This arrest comes in the context of tightening procedures and restrictions imposed on the entry of worshippers and media workers, with the continued targeting of journalists during their duties inside and around Al-Aqsa.

In a related context, the Jerusalem Governorate documented about 150 cases of expulsion since the beginning of last January, while the total number of those expelled before the month of Ramadan ranges between 200 and 300 people, with difficulty in accurately counting the number due to the notification of a number of decisions via phone or electronic applications without delivering official written decisions.

The Governorate also indicated that the number of expulsion decisions during the past five years reached about 2630 decisions, while during January alone, nearly 300 cases of expulsion were recorded, most of which were described as precautionary in preparation for the month of Ramadan.

Expulsion decisions affect guards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, stationed worshippers, activists, journalists, imams, preachers, and Jerusalemite dignitaries, in a policy followed annually by the occupation authorities with the aim of emptying Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.