Slowly, surely and without as much as a modicum of subtlety or a smattering of sympathy for Palestinians, the government of Israel is moving to eradicate every last vestige of Arab culture, history and the Islamic religion from occupied East Jerusalem.
Earlier this week, the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved to formalise annexation of hundreds of acres of Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem — land that the illegal Israeli administration had confiscated from its rightful owners and then earmark for new colonies under its control.
This proposal is nothing more than that of a bank robber who takes his ill-gotten gains and then deposits them back into the bank under his own name. It is an immoral, criminal and reprehensible act. The timing of the move of legitimisation comes when most are preoccupied with matters in the United States and the election of Donald Trump as president. Sadly, his elevation to White House will only serve to embolden the Netanyahu administration ever more. While the General Assembly of the United Nations has overwhelmingly condemned the whole process of colonisation in occupied East Jerusalem, Israel has managed to escape censure and sanction at the UN Security Council based on Washington’s support and veto.
Now, Israeli authorities have proposed a bill on the floor of the Knesset to bar all mosques from using loudspeakers. Should it pass, all mosques within the 1948 areas will no longer be able to use loudspeakers — a key component and a long-standing tradition in calling the faithful to prayer and in marking the passage of time. In the twisted and vengeful thinking of Israel, mosques disseminate propaganda. How shameful and petty.
