logo
Why are so many Palestinian religious sites under attack by Israel?

Why are so many Palestinian religious sites under attack by Israel?

Al Jazeera20-07-2025
Gaza's only Catholic church has been hit and Muslim cemeteries have been desecrated.
Israel has bombed Gaza's only Catholic church – the latest religious site hit in the war.
Hundreds of mosques were also damaged or destroyed, and cemeteries were obliterated, too.
In the occupied West Bank, attacks on Christians and Muslims are increasing.
Why is this happening?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Reverend Mitri Raheb – Lutheran pastor and president of Dar al-Kalima University
Moataz El Fegiery – Vice president of EuroMed Rights
Michael Lynk – Professor emeritus in the Faculty of Law at Western University
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tens of thousands protest Israel's war on Gaza in Australia's Sydney
Tens of thousands protest Israel's war on Gaza in Australia's Sydney

Al Jazeera

time3 hours ago

  • Al Jazeera

Tens of thousands protest Israel's war on Gaza in Australia's Sydney

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, calling for peace and aid deliveries in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis of man-made starvation has been worsening as a result of Israel's punishing blockade. Pro-Palestinian protesters braved heavy winds and rain on Sunday to march across the bridge, chanting 'Ceasefire Now' and 'Free Palestine'. Some of those attending the march, which the organisers dubbed the 'March for Humanity', carried pots and pans as symbols of the forced starvation wracking Gaza. The protest came less than a week after a joint statement by Australia and more than a dozen other nations expressed the 'willingness or the positive consideration … to recognise the state of Palestine as an essential step towards the two-State solution'. France, Britain and Canada have in recent weeks voiced, and in some cases qualified, intentions to diplomatically recognise a Palestinian state as international concern and criticism have grown over the hunger crisis in Gaza. At least 175 people, including 93 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition across the territory since Israel launched its war on Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, according to the latest Gaza Health Ministry figures. Australia has called for an end to the war in Gaza, but has so far stopped short of a decision to recognise a Palestinian state. Police said that up to 90,000 people had attended the protest while the organiser, Palestine Action Group Sydney, said in a Facebook post that as many as 300,000 people may have marched. Marchers ranged from the elderly to families with young children. Among them was WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who did not address the crowd or speak to the media. Mehreen Faruqi, the New South Wales senator for the left-wing Greens party, addressed the crowd gathered at central Sydney's Lang Park, calling for the 'harshest sanctions on Israel', accusing its forces of 'massacring' Palestinians. Antony Loewenstein, author of The Palestine Laboratory, a book on the Israeli arms and surveillance industry, who spoke at the rally, told Al Jazeera that protesters are 'outraged' not just by what Israel is doing in Gaza, but also by the Australian government's 'complicity'. Loewenstein said that Australia has, for many years, including since the start of the war, been part of the global supply chain for the F-35 fighter jets that Israel has been using in attacking the besieged territory. 'A lot of Australians are aware of this,' he said. 'We are deeply complicit, and people are angry that their government is doing little more than talk at this point.'

Experts say Israel's West Bank demolitions aim to drive Palestinians away
Experts say Israel's West Bank demolitions aim to drive Palestinians away

Al Jazeera

time4 hours ago

  • Al Jazeera

Experts say Israel's West Bank demolitions aim to drive Palestinians away

On June 25, Mutawakil al-Mohamad and his family woke up to the sound of Israeli soldiers pounding on their door with their rifles. It would be the last time they woke up in their family home in occupied East Jerusalem. The Israeli forces arrived at 7am in military convoys with two heavy bulldozers, and al-Mohamad was terrified the soldiers would raid his house and arrest him or his loved ones. Instead, the soldiers told the family their home was in a designated 'military zone' and ordered them to vacate immediately so they could bulldoze it to the ground. 'When I opened the door, I told the soldiers: 'My young children are scared.' I asked them to give me 10 minutes, then we will all be out of the house,' al-Mohamed said. The soldiers obliged, he recalled from Ramallah, the administrative capital of the occupied West Bank, where he now lives. Israel is demolishing more Palestinian homes across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, at a higher rate in 2025 than any previous year since the occupation began in 1967. Israeli authorities have already destroyed 783 structures – a figure that does not include the large-scale destruction in refugee camps – leading to the forced displacement of 1,119 people, according to the United Nations. In the Palestinian refugee camps, Israel has destroyed about 600 structures in the Jenin camp and a combined 300 structures in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps as part of military raids it launched at the start of this year, according to figures that Al Jazeera obtained from the Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq. Human rights groups, civilians and analysts said the real aim of Israel's tactics – systematic home demolitions and forced displacement – is to make life unbearable for Palestinians so more will consider leaving if they can. 'Israel's goal in the West Bank is the same as its goal in Gaza. … It wants to target all Palestinians,' said Murad Jadallah, a human rights researcher with Al-Haq. Jadallah argued that Israel's war in Gaza, which many experts have called a genocide, has shocked the world and distracted many from its unprecedented destruction in the West Bank. 'Israel is benefiting from the images of destruction it has created in Gaza in order to push its agenda in the West Bank,' he told Al Jazeera. Little support Since the start of this year, about 40,000 Palestinians have fled Israeli military operations in West Bank refugee camps. Many have struggled to find affordable replacement accommodations, renting instead in whatever villages where they find room, staying with relatives in overcrowded homes or languishing in public buildings converted into shelters for displaced people, Jadallah said. Ahmed Gaeem, 60, recalled Israeli soldiers evicting him, his wife, five children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews from their building in the Tulkarem refugee camp in March. The family was also told by Israeli soldiers that Tulkarem had been designated a 'military zone' and they would not be allowed to return for some time. 'We left with the clothes on our backs and nothing else. We didn't have time to pack anything,' Gaeem told Al Jazeera. A few weeks into Israel's military campaign, one of Gaeem's sons managed to return briefly to assess the damage to their home from a distance. Their home – like countless others – was destroyed. Its windows were shattered, the door hinges blown off and walls caved in. Gaeem's family is currently renting three homes in Iktaba village, a few kilometres from Tulkarem city, for a combined rent of about $1,300 – a fortune for a family surviving on meagre savings. Gaeem noted that while his salary as a Palestinian Authority (PA) civil servant is $500 a month, he hasn't been paid in months because of the PA's ongoing economic crisis. Over the past several years, the PA has cut salaries and struggled to pay its staff as a result of dwindling donor support and Israel's refusal to hand over tax revenue it collects on the PA's behalf, an arrangement laid out in the Oslo Accords. The PA itself was born out of the Oslo peace agreements of 1993 and 1995, which were signed by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The accords ostensibly aimed to bring about a Palestinian state in the years that followed. Unprecedented crisis The Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three zones. The PA was tasked with overseeing security and executive functions in Area A and executive functions in Area B while Israel remained in total control of Area C. This control allowed Israel to quietly and gradually expand illegal settlements – after encircling and then demolishing Palestinian homes and communities – in Area C, a largely agricultural region that makes up about 60 percent of the West Bank. In July, the Israeli army issued two orders that gave it an additional legal pretext to demolish homes in Area B – a power previously held only by the PA under the Oslo Accords. The orders enabled Israel to assume control over building and planning laws and laws pertaining to agricultural sites. Before these measures, most demolitions in Areas A and B were carried out during military operations or as reprisals against Palestinians who resisted the occupation. Israel now has an additional legal basis to destroy Palestinian homes by claiming the owners do not have building permits. Israel systematically denies building permits to Palestinians as part of a broader policy of confiscating Palestinian homes and land, according to human rights groups. Among the record number of demolitions carried out across the West Bank this year, the UN documented the destruction of 49 structures in Areas A and B. Under international law, Israel is prohibited from destroying private property anywhere in occupied Palestinian territory and from establishing settlements or outposts. 'The extension of demolitions in Area A and B and the way Israel is changing the legal status in Area B are unprecedented,' said Tahani Mustafa, an expert on the West Bank with the International Crisis Group think tank. She added that Israel appears to be trying to confine Palestinians to ever smaller pockets of land in Area A. Israel's ultimate plan, she fears, is to make life increasingly unbearable for Palestinians in urban centres, likely by imposing more checkpoints and barriers to restrict movement and carrying out more raids Israel's intensifying assault on Palestinians across the West Bank already has people like al-Mohamed fearing that his family could be evicted again. He said most Palestinians predict that Israel will turn its attention to the West Bank's cities after it finishes its military raids in the nearby camps. 'It's hard for us to go anywhere else other than the West Bank,' he told Al Jazeera. 'This is our land. It's where we want to live and where we want to die.'

Where does Trump stand on Israel's starvation of Palestinians?
Where does Trump stand on Israel's starvation of Palestinians?

Al Jazeera

time5 hours ago

  • Al Jazeera

Where does Trump stand on Israel's starvation of Palestinians?

Western nations discuss Palestinian statehood, but Israel's policy to starve the Palestinians in Gaza remains intact. Despite some pushback from his party to deal with the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza – especially Israel's starvation policy – the US governing Republican Party remains unmoved. Republicans overwhelmingly support Israel's tactics against the Palestinians, as support for Israel plummets among Independent and Democratic voters. Trump says he wants more food to reach Gaza via the militarised distribution mechanism, the GHF. But he criticised Western countries that spoke of diplomatic moves, such as recognising Palestinian statehood. Host Steve Clemons speaks with Republican analyst Mark Pfeifle and Democratic analyst David Bolger on Trump's political calculations on Middle East policy.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store