Shaikh Al Tamimi criticizes US report on religious freedom for ignoring Israeli violations

Al Tamimi criticizes US report on religious freedom

Saturday September 15, 2007 16:28 by IMEMC staff - IMEMC News& agencies manarjibrin at gmail dot com

Shaikh Tayseer Al-Tamimi , head of the Palestinian Supreme Juridical Council, on Saturday criticised a US report on the issue of religious freedom. The report failed to tackle serious violations carried out by the Israeli occupation government against both Christian and Muslim in the Palestinian territories.

Al-Tamimi pointed to some of the violations ignored by the report. In Jerusalem, for example, while the Israeli occupation government allowed Jewish extremist groups to break into the Al-Aqsa mosque and continued to dig underneath it, Muslims were being prevented from praying there. Likewise in the West Bank city of Hebron, Christians were being denied access to the Church of the Sepulchure. The Israeli occupation government had also closed the Ibrahimi mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs) handing over control of part of it to settlers who were transforming it into a synagogue. It had intensified military checkpoints at the entrances and along the roads leading to it. Worshippers had also been arrested.

Al-Tamimi said that attacks carried out by the Israeli authorities against mosques in Jerusalem, Hebron and inside the 1948 territories had increased. The attacks had included break-ins, closures and demolitions. Some had been turned into night clubs and Muslim graveyards dug up by the Israeli authorities.

Al-Tamimi described the report as lacking objectivity and credibility by criticizing countries opposed to American policy whilst turning a blind eye to the actions of its allies, such as the Israeli occupation government. He said that America's uncritical support for the Israeli occupation government encouraged such violations and only served to put more obstacles in the path towards a just and comprehensive solution to the conflict in the region.

Translated by Manar Jibril.

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