West Bankupdated 53m ago2 min read
Archive photo · 2 October 2019Israeli Authorities Shut Down Sons of Jerusalem Club in Old City Under Ben-Gvir Order
6 West Asian1 OtherPhoto: Pudelek, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Israeli authorities shut down the Sons of Jerusalem Club in the Old City. Decision issued by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
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Clubs shut in Jerusalem
Israeli authorities shut down the Sons of Jerusalem Club in the Sa'diya neighborhood of the Old City of Jerusalem on Thursday under an order issued by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. The Jerusalem Governorate said the closure targeted Palestinian national, sports and social institutions in Jerusalem and described the Sons of Jerusalem Club as one of the Old City's long-established sports and social institutions.
The Jerusalem Governorate added that the decision came amid an ongoing Israeli escalation targeting Palestinian national institutions and activities in Jerusalem through closures, persecution and restrictions. The Jerusalem Governorate said the closure amounted to an attack on an institution that provides a space for young Jerusalemites and promotes their sports, cultural and social engagement.
Ben-Gvir orders and law
Israeli occupation authorities closed the Bnei Al-Quds Club in the Old City on Thursday by a decision of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to WAFA and the Palestinian Information Center as cited by العربي الجديد. The Jerusalem Governorate said the closure fell within a policy of deliberate tightening of the Palestinian presence in the city and came in a continuous Israeli escalation context targeting Palestinian national institutions and events in Jerusalem through closure, pursuit, and imposition of restrictions.
جريدة القدس العربي said Israeli occupation authorities closed the ‘Abnaa al-Quds’ Club in the Al-Saadiya Neighborhood of the Old City in East Jerusalem and welded its outer doors with iron to prevent its reopening. جريدة القدس العربي said the closure order was based on the “Enactment of the Interim Agreement over the Jordan Valley and the Gaza Strip (Activity Restriction) Law” issued in 1994 and stated that the ban applied even if the club used other names or different translations of its name.
What the closures mean
The Palestinian Information Center said the Israeli occupation authorities closed the Children of Jerusalem Club in the Old City of Jerusalem by a decision of Itamar Ben-Gvir, framing the move as another link in a sequence of targeting national, sports, and social institutions. The Palestinian Information Center said the governorate emphasized that the decision came within the framework of pursuing Palestinian national events and institutions through closures and security restrictions to disrupt institutional and communal life and deprive Jerusalemites of spaces for cultural and sports activities.
جريدة القدس العربي said the order prohibited the club from engaging in any activity anywhere within the borders described in the law and required the owner of the premises and everyone who runs, operates, or works within its activities not to allow any activity to take place. The Jerusalem Governorate said the closures sought to undermine Palestinian institutional and community life and further limit the spaces available to Jerusalemites to engage in sports, cultural and social activities.