Israeli Occupation Government Builds Shopping Center, Conference Hall Next to Al-Aqsa Mosque

[ 14/11/2008 - 11:52 AM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)--

After it had built a synagogue near Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Israeli occupation government started the construction of a shopping center and a conference hall next to the Muslim holy shrine, Palestinian and Israeli sources revealed Thursday.

According to the sources, the Israeli archeology bureau and El-Ad society were illegally carrying out the construction works without permits from concerned authorities under the cover of carrying out archeological excavations.

The Hebrew Ha'aretz newspaper revealed that the illegal excavations were uncovered after a number of Palestinian citizens living in the Arab-dominated Selwan suburb, which is close to Al-Aqsa Mosque filed a petition at the Israeli high court seeking the halt of the constructions.

The Israeli "peace now" movement also condemned the construction works and joined the protesting Palestinians in filing the petition. The court gave the archeology department, the national gardens authority, and the Jewish-controlled Jerusalem municipality five days to reply.

In a memo it filed Tuesday, the municipality acknowledged that the construction works were indeed carried out without legal permits, alleging it had ordered the halt of the excavation works one day before the petition was filed; but the peace now movement belied the municipality claims, asserting that the construction works continued.

According to the Israeli organization, the IOA was planning to build a huge building, including conference hall, shopping center, guest houses, and underground parking area on 115,000 sq. meters although the original scheme reveals that the site would be used only as a public parking area.

According to Palestinian sources, the site was used as a parking area for local inhabitants and Muslim visitors coming to the holy mosque.

They added that the use of heavy excavation equipments by the IOA in the site had alarmed local residents living in the area after cracks appeared on walls of their homes as a result of the excavation works, and prompted them to file the petition on fears that their homes could collapse.

"The damage that was inflicted on the local residents' homes clearly reveals that the construction works were done without the supervision of an eligible civil engineer", the sources pointed out.

The IOA had allowed a number of fanatic Israeli societies to carry out excavation works next to Al-Aqsa Mosque under the cover of searching for archeological remains, and spent millions of dollars on those constriction works with the aim to ensure an Israeli control of areas around the old town in the occupied city of Jerusalem that could spoil a final and permanent agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis, the peace now movement underlined.

Few days ago, the Israeli occupation authorities gave the go ahead for fanatic Israeli societies financed by US-based organizations to build the "tolerance" museum on ruins of the Muslim Mamanullah cemetery.