CrossFireArabia, Author at CrossFireArarbia

Jerusalem: 90,000 Perform Prayers Despite Israeli Restrictions

CrossFireArabia
March 7, 2025

Despite strict Israeli restrictions, approximately 90,000 Palestinian worshipers gathered for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem.

“Around 90,000 worshipers attended Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, director-general of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem, told Anadolu.

Israeli police forces were heavily deployed around the mosque and throughout the Old City of Jerusalem to restrict the entry of worshipers.

On Thursday, Israeli police announced that 3,000 officers would be stationed across East Jerusalem on Friday.

Israeli authorities also imposed severe restrictions on worshipers from the occupied West Bank attempting to reach Jerusalem.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli army prevented tens of thousands of Palestinians from crossing military checkpoints surrounding Jerusalem to reach Al-Aqsa.

On Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced that only men over 55, women over 50, and children under 12 would be allowed to enter the mosque. Worshipers were also required to obtain prior security clearance and undergo extensive checks at designated crossings.

Despite these measures, Palestinians from Jerusalem and Arab towns inside Israel made their way to the mosque. Volunteer groups, including Al-Aqsa guards, scouts, and security teams, assisted worshipers.

During the sermon, Muhammad Salim Muhammad Ali, the Friday preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, praised worshipers for their determination to reach the mosque despite Israeli restrictions and urged further efforts to protect and frequent the holy site.

At the end of the prayers, worshipers held absentee funeral prayers for the souls of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli authorities have imposed strict measures limiting Palestinians’ access from the West Bank to East Jerusalem.

Palestinians consider these restrictions as part of Israel’s broader efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity according to Anadolu.

Culture

Social Media Lash Out at BBC For Gaza Film

CrossFireArabia
March 7, 2025

The BBC is facing growing criticism for “failing in its duty of care” to the 13-year-old Palestinian narrator of a Gaza documentary as he has reportedly experienced intense online abuse following the BBC’s decision to withdraw the film.

The Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone documentary sheds light on the experiences of children in Gaza amid Israel’s genocide war through the eyes of narrator Abdullah al-Yazuri. However, it was removed from the BBC iPlayer, after a pro-Israel campaign centered on al-Yazuri’s relationship with a minister in Gaza’s Hamas-run government.

This is what the BBC Editorial guidelines say about protecting children that it works with. Abdullah, the child in the Gaza doco, says that after the film was dropped he and his family received online threats. He says, the BBC is responsible for his welfare. He’s right: https://t.co/t946KSKwv5 pic.twitter.com/PaEozxyW9u
— Sangita Myska (@SangitaMyska) March 6, 2025

Abdullah’s father Ayman al-Yazuri has been labeled by media as a “Hamas chief” while he is a technocrat with a scientific rather than political background, who has previously worked for the UAE’s education ministry and studied at British universities.

Fears for Safety

Speaking exclusively to Middle East Eye (MEE) last week, the child explained that he and his family have been the targets of online abuse, adding that the affair has caused him serious “mental pressure” and made him fear for his safety.

“I did not agree to the risk of me being targeted in any way before the documentary was broadcast on the BBC. So [if] anything happens to me, the BBC is responsible for it,” he said.

The boy also said the BBC had not reached out to him to apologize.

“Hamas Royalty”

His father has also denied claims that he and his son are “Hamas royalty” in an interview this week with MEE.

His comments came after pro-Israel activist David Collier alleged that Abdullah was the son of a deputy minister in Gaza’s government and was related to a co-founder of Hamas, Ibrahim al-Yazuri, who died in 2021.

The father is a civil servant in Gaza’s government – which is administered by Hamas.

Many Palestinians in Gaza have family or other connections to Hamas, which runs the government. This means that anyone working in an official capacity must also work with Hamas.

Collier, whose revelations sparked a national scandal, described Abdullah as the “child of Hamas royalty”, a claim later repeated by mainstream British newspapers.

The father said that his full name was Ayman Hasan Abdullah al-Yazuri, whereas the Hamas founder’s full name was Ibrahim Fares Ahmed al-Yazuri. He added that his father was named Hasan and died in 1975.

“Our family is not as some claim,” he told MEE, insisting he was not “Hamas royalty”.

“There are many individuals within our family who are affiliated with Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), including some in leadership positions within these movements.”

Sparking Debate

The child’s interview with MEE about his experiences has sparked a debate on social media on media ethics and the BBC’s responsibility to protect the children it works with.

“I posted about this concern shortly after the BBC pulled this documentary,” said Chris Doyle, chair of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, responding to Abdullah’s video.

Several social media users have accused the BBC of exposing the child’s life to danger, and say the broadcaster has a responsibility to ensure his safety.

They have also highlighted Section 9 of the BBC’s editorial guidelines concerning children and young people as contributors, which states that the BBC “must take due care over the physical and emotional welfare and the dignity of under-18s who take part or are otherwise involved in our editorial content, irrespective of any consent given by them or by a parent, guardian or other person acting in loco parentis. Their welfare must take priority over any editorial requirement”.

There are also guidelines in the section that dictate that if a person under 18 is suspected to be at risk in the course of their work, “the situation must be referred promptly to the divisional Working with Children Adviser or, for independent production companies, to the commissioning editor”.

Section 9 also states that “procedures, risk assessments, and contingencies for the impact of participating on an individual’s emotional and mental well-being and welfare may be appropriate in some circumstances”.

Others also argued that the removal appeared to be another example of media bias against Palestinians according to the Quds News Network.

News

First Act of News Israeli Army Chief: Sack Daniel Hagari

CrossFireArabia
March 7, 2025

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has decided to dismiss military spokesperson Daniel Hagari, who later managed to ensure his “forced” retirement from the service, Israel’s public broadcaster reported on Friday.

“The Chief of Staff decided to dismiss the spokesperson of the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, from his position,” KAN reported.

However, it added that “the army spokesperson agreed with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir that he would step down from his position in the coming weeks and retire from the Israeli army.”

The decision comes just two days after Zamir assumed his position, replacing former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who led Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza for over 15 months before resigning.

The broadcaster noted that Hagari lost the confidence of Defense Minister Israel Katz and is in disagreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, but no further information was provided.

Tensions between the Israeli army and Defense Minister Katz have been escalating since January, particularly after Katz instructed Halevi to fully cooperate with an investigation by the state comptroller into the events of Oct. 7, 2023 according to Anadolu.

In a rare public response, the Israeli military said in a statement that “such matters should be resolved through direct dialogue between the defense minister and the chief of staff, not through the media.”

More than 48,400 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 111,800 have been injured in a brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 2023. The assault, which left the enclave in ruins, was paused under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold on Jan. 19.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

News

Germany Backs Egypt’s Gaza Reconstruction Plan

CrossFireArabia
March 7, 2025

Germany on Friday expressed strong support for the Arab League’s reconstruction plan for Gaza, which stands as an alternative to US President Donald Trump’s proposed US takeover of Gaza.

“The German government welcomes the Arab League’s plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told a news conference in Berlin.

“The plan includes many valuable elements we can build upon. Constructive discussions should begin immediately,” he said, adding that Berlin maintains that Gaza must not pose any security threat to Israel in the future.

At the same news conference, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer stated that the plan contributes significantly to a sustainable solution by addressing political and security concerns in the Gaza Strip.

“We also believe that it is appropriate to rely on the Palestinian Authority as a key player in this process,” Fischer said. “The plan supports the long-term goal of a two-state solution and also a resumption of direct negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides. We also support this,” he added.

When asked about Germany’s position on other plans and proposals, such as the relocation of Palestinians to neighboring countries, Fischer firmly stated that “forced relocations and expulsions are always contrary to international law.”

News

French Nurse: Women Are Center of Life in Gaza

CrossFireArabia
March 7, 2025

Palestinian women are placed at the center of life, according to Imane Maarifi, a French nurse of Moroccan descent who spoke to Anadolu about her volunteer work in Gaza.

“Palestinians have a deep respect for women. Women are really at the center of life, and you can immediately tell that they have been raised in this respect,” Maarifi said.

She described an unexpected sense of equality, noting that she mostly ate meals prepared by men, with women prioritized in serving, and the men being served afterward, if any food was left.

“I imagined, perhaps, a country with a more dominant patriarchy, but to my great surprise, that wasn’t the case,” she said.

Maarifi also observed that female workers were provided a room with a bathroom, while their male colleagues were assigned to a bare room.

“This was my first time in Palestine, and as a humanitarian worker, I was already received with great respect,” she added.

Maarifi highlighted that women in Gaza struggle to access basic materials, such as sanitary pads, while mothers always prioritize their children in all circumstances.

“What I saw among women there were mothers who couldn’t bathe every day because they preferred to use the water to bathe their children,” she said.

She also pointed to the “dire” food situation in Gaza, where constant rice consumption has led to severe digestive problems.

Maarifi noted that when mothers had access to fiber-based foods and dietary aids, they prioritized giving them to their children first.

“Of course, a mother always has that instinct, but in Gaza, under genocide, it becomes even stronger. They completely lose their sense of personal priorities — their only priority is their children,” she added.

She further emphasized that women are celebrated every day in Gaza.

“In Gaza, March 8 happens every day. Women are truly honored every single day. Maybe in the West, we should learn from them,” Maarifi concluded.