Gaza siege continues as Israel opens only one crossing point,  

Published today (updated) 13/09/2009 14:53

Gaza – Ma’an –

 The Israeli occupation government will continue its siege of the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip this week, opening one crossing into the blockaded area to allow 85-95 truckloads of commercial goods and humanitarian aid into the area, Palestinian crossings official Raed Fattouh said Sunday.

The first day of the week sees the fuel and fodder crossing points sealed, following Saturday's total closures of all crossing points and a half day of goods transfer on Friday.

On Thursday the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the UN body in charge of refugee services, called on Israel to lift the blockade on school supplies, which have been denied entry into Gaza and are currently being held in warehouses in Israel. There has so far been no indication as to whether Israeli authorities will heed the call for notebooks, pencils and crayons.

Gazans lament 8-year prohibition on travel for prayer at Al-Aqsa

Published yesterday (updated) 13/09/2009 10:52

Gaza – Ma’an -

“I still remember years ago, my husband and I would with one of the tour groups going to the Al-Aqsa Mosque; I don’t think we paid more than 20 shekels each. We would pray there until the sun set and return to Gaza after dark,” recalled the now elderly Umm Ibrahim sitting in her home in Gaza City on Friday.

“Today I miss the small parts of the soil of Al-Aqsa and the whole city of Jerusalem,” she said.

For eight years Gaza residents have been denied permission to travel to Jerusalem to pray at Al-Aqsa. Permits to leave the Strip for Jerusalem are now only granted for the critically ill, and with the Israeli imposed siege on the area over the past three years, even medical permits are hard to come by.

Though it seems useless to hope, some Gazans still wish to pray the final Friday noon prayer of Ramadan at Al-Aqsa. They have asked, but received no answer from crossings authorities.

Sa’id Abu Sahdi is about to turn fifty. If he were in the West Bank he could soon travel to Jerusalem and pray at the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. In Gaza, however, the same rules do not apply. “I don’t know why the Israelis will not let men over 50 and women over 45 pray at Al-Aqsa,” Abu Shadi said, “it is one of the most important Islamic rituals for Palestinians and I cannot participate.”

Younger generations in Gaza have never even seen Al-Aqsa beyond the images broadcast on Palestinian satellite channels. One teen, Sami, says he feels embarrassed when his extended family speak about praying in Jerusalem because he has never been to the holy city and cannot remember with them the details of the experience.

Another man, Abu Ahmad, said he can hardly remember the last time he prayed at the Jerusalem mosque with his mother. “What I can best recall is the greenish roads on the way to the city, and driving up big hills, but not much about the mosque itself.” The 35-year-old only hopes he can pray at the mosque before he dies.