Israeli Excavations Reach Foundations of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem, Says Abu Halabiya

[ 15/08/2008 - 04:15 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Palestinian legislator Dr. Ahmed Abu Halabiya has disclosed on Friday that the Israeli excavation works under Al-Aqsa Mosque started to threaten its foundations, which will jeopardize the existence of the holiest Muslim shrine in Palestine.

According to Abu Halabiya who also chairs the Quds committee in the PA legislature, an 800 meter-long tunnel was discovered under the Marwani mosque, which caused many cracks in the Mosque's walls.

In an interview with the Palestine newspaper published Friday, the Palestinian legislator also confirmed that the frequent Israeli settlers' assaults on Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the IOF troops pose direct threats to it, accusing the Israeli occupation authorities of denying Muslims in Palestine their right to pray in the holy shrine, and charging it of limiting the age category for those wishing to pray in it.

According to the new Israeli policy, no Palestinian citizen between 12-45 years is allowed into the Mosque, which, according to human rights experts, constitutes flagrant violation of the right of worship.

However, Abu HalabIya confirmed that the strategic Israeli objective behind those heinous practices was to "destroy the Aqsa Mosque completely, and to establish the alleged third temple on its ruins", through series of accelerated steps and procedures to judaize the city.

Since Jerusalem city came under complete Israeli occupation in 1967, more than 50,000 dunums (1 dunum= 1000 sq meters) were confiscated from the city's land that were used either to build new Israeli settlements or to expand existing ones with the aim to initiate demographic change in favor of the Jews in the city, Abu Halabiya underlined.

He also pointed out that the IOA had forced thousands of Palestinian Jerusalemite families out of their homes and confiscated their residency IDs, in addition to demolishing nearly 50,000 Palestinian homes in the city under fabricated pretexts.

Abu Halabeyya urged PA chief Mahmoud Abbas to immediately stop the "futile" meetings with the Israelis that, according to local observes, are utilized by the Israeli occupation government to cover their crimes in Jerusalem city.

Abu Halabiya also deprecated the "feeble Arab and Muslim action" towards the Israeli schemes against the Aqsa Mosque, stressing that a strong Arab and Muslim action was urgently needed in order to bolster the steadfastness of Palestinian Jerusalemites on their land and in their homes.

He also revealed that the EU was moving to condemn Israeli plans to build 400 settlement units in Jerusalem, urging Arab and Muslim countries to take similar move and to block such Israeli plans.

Many Muslim holy shrines, including mosques and cemeteries in the 1948-occupied Palestinian lands were converted into stables, night clubs, and gambling dens in clear undermining of the feelings of the 1.5 billion Muslims world-wide.

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