Occupied Jerusalem -

In the memory of the guards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the memory of the gift of electronic gates that erupted in the summer of 2017, does not go unnoticed, as they dug deep into their memory the details of a battle that forced the occupation to yield to the demands of the protesters at the gates of the first two qiblahs.

In that uprising, the guards were divided into two parts: the first stayed inside the mosque for 14 days and refused to leave it, and the second camped at the doors with thousands of Al-Murabites, and refused to enter his workplace through the electronic gates set up by the Israeli occupation police in front of the historic gates of Al-Aqsa, to force the worshipers to Enter through it in an attempt to impose a new reality.

The spark of this popular uprising dates back to Friday, July 14, 2017, when 3 young men from the city of Umm al-Fahm, inside the Palestinian territories, shot an Israeli police force stationed at Bab Hatta (one of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque) at approximately 7:15 am.


Then the three of them entered the courtyards of Al-Aqsa, where they were chased by special police forces and clashed with them until they were martyred in the dome of the Dome of the Rock, and the operation resulted in the killing of two Israeli policemen.

The guard of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Muhammad Sanjlawi, was at work that day on the roof of the Bab al-Rahma chapel, and he heard the sound of shooting nearby. He realized that he was inside the courtyards, so he ran towards him and saw the special forces shooting at the young men, and he was not allowed to approach.

As a result, the police and special forces arrested 50 employees of the Islamic Endowment, who were on the job at the Al-Aqsa Mosque facilities, and forcibly removed them from the Mughrabi Gate after attacking them, and from there they were transferred to the Al-Maskobiya investigation center.

About those hours, Singlawi told Al-Jazeera Net - "We were interrogated about the identity of the three young men, and they showed us their photos and asked us if we knew them, then they confiscated our mobile phones and released us in the evening."

The guard of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Muhammad Sanglawi (Al-Jazeera)

Extraordinary days

Al-Aqsa was emptied of all Awqaf employees for two days, during which time the occupation wreaked havoc.

After that, the sheikhs of Al-Aqsa decided to organize an inspection tour around it, in which 12 guards accompanied them, including Muhammad Sanglawi.

After the tour ended, the guards decided to stay inside the walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque and not leave.

On the same day, the riot was launched in response to the installation of electronic gates, through which the occupation police tried to force worshipers to enter.

Here, the responsibility placed on the shoulders of the guards inside the mosque began to grow.

About his memories in those days, Singlawi said, "We were 12 guards, 6 left for family reasons, and those who remained were distributed over 144 dunums (the area of ​​Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards and chapels) we guard it day and night, and we only get two hours of sleep per day. I was the only guard from the morning division, and therefore I received The duty of the shift at the Mughrabi Gate during the hours of the storming of extremist settlers.

Being away from his wife and newborn child was not easy, but he chose to stay in his “heart’s whirlpool” for two weeks of the popular uprising, and he was keen to document all the violations of the occupation by photographing them from small openings under the doors and sides of Al-Aqsa.

"I was in contact with the sheikhs around the clock, telling them to install an iron bridge in front of this gate and set up cameras at that. And so until the last day when I saw with my own eyes the removal of the iron bridges and gates in front of the Qattanin Gate."

Jerusalemites, including the guard Essam Najib, held a sit-in at the door of the Council and refused to enter Al-Aqsa through the electronic gates (Al-Jazeera)

Jerusalemites unite

Issam Najib, another guard lived the details of the donation with the worshipers at the gates.

He said that the occupation forces him away from the mosque constantly, but his distance from him in those days was voluntary because he refused to enter his workplace through the electronic inspection gates set up by the police.

In front of the Majlis Gate (one of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque), Najib connected with Jerusalemites in the morning period, and in the evening he would move to the Bab Al-Asbat area to sit with thousands of worshipers daily there.

What caught his attention during that uprising was the deep solidarity among the Jerusalemites, and the dedication of everyone to provide everything they had. No one was stingy in providing food, drink and all the needs of the sit-in around the clock.


Indescribable moments

Issam Najeeb was silent for a moment when asked about the details of Victory Day and the entry of thousands of worshipers, cheering and glorifying, to the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, then he said, “He who has not lived those moments has never lived,” especially since the controversy over breaking the sit-in and entering, continued from the morning hours until the afternoon after the insistence of Worshipers open the door of Huta to be their main entry point.

Najib then stood in front of the Lions Gate.

And about what he witnessed, he said, “I cannot describe the scene or the feelings, for they are impossible to do so. Cohorts enter loudly and cheerfully.. Among them are those who rush to be the first to reach the Dome of the Rock. And they raised it high... Chilling scenes confirm that this holy place was, is, and will remain the red line that the Jerusalemites do not allow anyone to tamper with."

The scenes of victory that angered the occupation and prompted it, as usual after every popular uprising, to clamp down on the mosque, worshipers, and endowment employees.

Naguib said that the Israeli police kept them 25 meters away from the settlers who stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque daily.

Although, before the explosion, they were allowed to observe the intruders from a distance of two meters.

Not only that, but the guards and employees of the Islamic Waqf were targeted by arrest and wholesale deportation.

Although he returned to Al-Aqsa Mosque a few days ago after a 6-month ban, this young guard refuses to stand idly by in front of the police and settlers’ violations, and insists on documenting them, which has led to his banishment from his workplace for a year and a half so far.