Durban – Neeshan Bolton of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation speaking in Durban on Sunday described the scenes on April 5 and 5, of Israeli soldiers entering Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadaan and attacking Palestinian worshippers, as barbaric.

Bolton was speaking to protesters who gathered on Durban’s promenade in a protest organised by the organisation People Against Oppression (PAO).

“It was not only the Al-Aqsa mosque, there were other religious sites including Christian churches where similar things have been done.

“The objective was to erase the Palestinian presence from Jerusalem. At some point in the future they will try to make sure that that mosque is no longer a mosque and that its Muslim presence is completely eradicated,” said Bolton.

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli police said in a statement that they were forced to enter the compound after “masked agitators” locked themselves inside the mosque with fireworks, sticks and stones.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned what happened as “a major crime against the worshippers”, adding that “prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque is not with the permission of the (Israeli) occupation … it is our right.”

Bolton said when Kathrada visited the mosque in 2013 he found cabinets full of shells and mortars from previous attacks.

“The people who look after the mosque put this in the cabinets so it became a display of the ammunition used in previous attacks and is a reminder that these attacks have been ongoing for decades.

“It is this that got Kathrada that apartheid Israel was worse than anything he had experienced in South Africa. He said that as brutal and inhumane as the apartheid government was, they very rarely entered places of worship, because they knew where to draw the line.”

PAO in a statement said Church leadership have also decried Israel's heavy-handed actions against Christian worshippers this Easter that includes cancellation of all permits to pilgrims from Gaza and the decision to restrict the number of people allowed to visit the Holy Sepulchre Church in East Jerusalem.

“Israel seeks to slash the number of worshippers by 80% in what is claimed to be in the interest of safety.

“The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, the Custody of the Holy Land, and the Armenian Patriarchate said in a joint statement that it is supported by the World Council of Churches that since 2005 the Israeli authorities started imposing checkpoints and barriers around the Old City of Jerusalem, restricting access under the pretext of public safety but it is not as the church has always coped safely and smoothly with over five times the numbers of worshippers and condemn the affront to their rights and freedom to worship and vow to continue to uphold the status quo customs as has been customary for two millennia.”

THE MERCURY

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Protest in Durban after Al-Aqsa Mosque raid