“This tuk-tuk has a story and a story, praise be to God, for it is a blessing that God has honored me with, and I help people to take them to Al-Aqsa Mosque,” ​​said Nafisa Khweis, who was expelled from Al-Aqsa Mosque by an Israeli decision.

“I am Nafisa Khuwais, stationed in Jerusalem and has been away from Al-Aqsa Mosque for a whole year.” With these words, she made herself known to Anatolia.

** Deportation and arrest

Khweis (66 years and a mother of 6 sons and 4 daughters) used to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, but for years she has been suffering from successive Israeli decisions to prevent her from entering it, and sometimes even from approaching its external doors.

She said that the last time they expelled her was on August 10, 2020, until February 10, and then they extended the deportation until August 10.

Khuwais wondered, “Why are they deporting me? I don’t know, I don’t have an answer to that question.”

She added: “I do not know why they prevent me from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is not a new decision. I have been suffering for a long time because of these decisions.”

Khweis indicated that the last time she was deported was for a year, “and before that, I was deported or arrested more than once… Always either they arrest me or keep me away from Al-Aqsa.”

And she continued, “They arrested me a lot, they accuse me of false accusations and accuse me of things I did not do.”

Khweis said, “I go to Al-Aqsa Mosque for prayer and not for anything else. I pray and read the Qur’an and then go home, but this is an unjust government.”

The Israeli police deports dozens of Palestinians every month from Al-Aqsa Mosque for periods ranging from one week to six months, subject to renewal.

The Israeli police often justify the deportation decisions by saying that the deportees “pose a danger to the peace.”

The deportations began several years ago, after worshipers protested the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers, and their attempt to perform religious rituals in its courtyards.

** A heart cries Al Aqsa

The Israeli police, unilaterally, and without the approval of the Islamic Endowment Department in Jerusalem, have since 2003 allowed settlers to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Mughrabi Gate in the western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Since then, the incursions have caused confrontations between Palestinians and the Israeli police in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and East Jerusalem, and the confrontations often move to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Following the decisions to prevent entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque, the deportees, including Nafisa Khweis, perform prayers at the outer doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Khweis said, about her feelings when receiving the decisions to be removed from Al-Aqsa Mosque, “My heart cries and my tears fall. I am sore, from the first day of my ban until the last day, my heart remains sore.”

She adds, “When I see people entering Al-Aqsa, I get the feeling that I want to enter, and I tried, (but) the last time they beat me… It was the day of Arafa, and they beat me with batons at the Lions Gate, and I wanted to enter to pray but I couldn’t.”

She indicated that during the periods of deportation, she performs the prayer outside the doors of Al-Aqsa Mosque, “I pray Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha, but in general, I perform the Fajr, Zuhr, Maghrib and Isha prayers daily.”

** The story of the tuktuk

Khweis used to come to pray in her own car, but the Israeli police often issued tickets against her, so it occurred to her to buy a tuk-tuk.

You rarely see the “tuk-tuk” on the streets of Jerusalem, as it is used only by some elderly people for transportation.

There are a number of elderly Palestinians who use a “tuk-tuk” to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform prayers there.

Khweis said, “I go to the dawn prayer, and sometimes I’m late. I live nearby, but there is a difficult descent and a difficult rise. I used the car, but they always issued fines against me as part of the injustice of the occupation.”

And she added, “I thought of buying a tuktuk, as it is not violated, and it is small that meets my needs and benefits me, and benefits people, and God has honored me with it, and people with it also.”

** Transfer of worshipers to Al-Aqsa

Khweis continued, “Currently, I transfer the elderly worshipers to the mosque. There is a strong rise at the Lions Gate, and they contact me, and I take them to the mosque.”

On her way from the town of Tur in East Jerusalem to the Old City, Khweis stops at the bus stops, and takes elderly worshipers with her to Al-Aqsa.

Khweis brought the worshipers to a place close to the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque because they are prohibited from entering the mosque by an Israeli decision.

She said, “They (the Israeli police) bother me a lot. They don’t want me to come to Al-Aqsa. They don’t want to see me in the mosque or its surroundings. From 1 to 15 police chase me, they wait for me until I finish praying and they expel me.”

And she continued, “Daily, I take him (the tuk-tuk) to Al-Aqsa 4 times, and I take people to the mosque, and this is a blessing from God and he gave it to me, and I do not want anything else from the world; There is no house or money, but only the tuktuk to go to Al-Aqsa, this is a great blessing and favor from God.”

And she added, “I am the first to bring a tuktuk to help people, for whoever wants to reach Al-Aqsa and is unable to help him, thank God, this is a blessing from God.”

With much sadness, she pointed out that “the injustice that I face from the occupation is not easy, but praise be to God, who gave me strength, religion, faith, prayer and worship, so let them arrest me and beat me.. I, thank God, endure all this for the sake of Al-Aqsa, and I am a sacrifice for Al-Aqsa.”

** Distribution of sweets and coffee

Khwais often takes initiatives such as distributing sweets, coffee and food to the worshipers leaving Al-Aqsa Mosque, considering this as another reason why he called her to buy a tuktuk.

“I distribute sweets, coffee and food… to the worshipers as they leave the mosque,” she said.

She added, “This feeling is indescribable, and I also bought a tuk-tuk for this, so that I can bring these things to Al-Aqsa.”

** Tuktuk and Sheikh Jarrah

Khweis also uses the tuk-tuk to reach activities in support of the Palestinians who are threatened with eviction from their homes, which the settlers are trying to seize.

She stated that when the Israeli police saw her in events such as Sheikh Jarrah, they threatened to arrest her. “They asked me why I was in Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Isawiya, and my response was that they had no right to ask me this question.”

Khweis stressed, “This is our land, and this is our homeland, and our birthplace, and it is ours and not theirs. They (the Israelis) have nothing here. They killed people, uprooted trees, demolished stones, they destroyed our country.”

** A look of longing from the Mount of Olives

Khweis uses the tuktuk to reach the hills overlooking the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Mount of Olives, and sometimes performs prayers there.

She said: “I watch Al-Aqsa from the hills near the mosque, and sometimes I perform prayer” there.

For Hajja Nafisa Khweis, Al-Aqsa is an integral part of her life, despite the deportation and arrest she is subjected to.

Hajja Nafisa told Anatolia, “This is my way, and God is with me, and God has given me strength and faith. Praise be to God, whatever they do; Whether they expel me or arrest me, I will not be deported from the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the gates of the mosque.”

She added, “They kept me away from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, so I performed the prayer outside the doors. They kept me away from the old city, so I performed the prayer outside the walls, because it is all holy land. I will not leave Al-Aqsa and its gates as long as there is a soul in my body.”