Israeli occupation forces tightened the military measures in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday, preventing residents from moving freely inside the neighborhood. Meanwhile, colonists stormed the so-called Tomb of Simon the Righteous to perform their prayers and Talmudic rituals.
Israeli occupation forces set up checkpoints in the neighborhood, which is heavily deployed with military vehicles and iron barriers, and blocked access to specific streets, disrupting daily life for residents. Meanwhile, a noisy party was held in a large tent erected next to the so-called tomb, with men and women separated in another tent.
The Jerusalem Governorate said in a statement that field facts confirm that the occupation is exploiting religious claims related to the cave as a pretext to impose further restrictions on residents and facilitate the colonists’ incursions without any deterrent. This is part of a strategy aimed at entrenching the colonial structure in the heart of the neighborhood and creating a reality that contradicts the historical and social character of the area.
It emphasized that the Israeli occupation’s claims regarding the so-called Tomb of Simon the Righteous have no historical or archaeological basis.
The site was historically known as the Cave of Sheikh Siddiq al-Saadi, which he acquired in 1733 and used as a Sufi retreat and meeting place for his disciples. There is no basis for the Israeli claims linking the site to Simon the Righteous, and no ancient Jewish figure used it, as Zionist narratives promote.
The governorate emphasized that the occupation justifies its colonial policies using religious claims, while the reality on the ground reflects a systematic strategy to impose control over the neighborhood and gradually displace its residents. It emphasized that the Palestinian historical narrative, based on documents, Sharia courts, and the ownership of the original Jerusalemite families, is the scientific and most reliable reference and is supported by UNESCO and international resolutions.