On the dawn of Thursday, 24 March 2022, an Israeli occupation Intelligence force, accompanied by Municipality representatives, broke into the headquarters of "Hilal Al Quds", a premier league club located in occupied east Jerusalem. The force was in the process of the break-in when some club board members arrived and demanded a reason for the violent attempt. The force handed the board members a "property confiscation order” stating that if the administration fails to pay a fine of about 10,000,000 NIS, all property of the club will be confiscated. The administration was informed that they have ten days before the club headquartered will be closed, permanently.
The occupation municipality said that the amount is an accumulated “Arnona” [land] tax the club has not been paying for 30-40 years! The board maintains that it is an absurd claim, since the club, a nonprofit “Sports institution”, has not been able for decades to get registration as such in the Israeli occupation municipal records, which could have entitled it to a 66% Arnona tax reduction.
Hilal Al-Quds, yet to celebrate its golden jubilee, was established back in 1972. It has been providing a cultural and sports refuge for decades to thousands of youth and children in occupied east Jerusalem. It also has a Scouts division that does a lot of voluntary work in service of the community.
