PA: The “covetous” Jews “defile” the Al-Aqsa Mosque, have begun preparing for “building the alleged Temple”
- PA Fatwa Council’s Antisemitism: Calls on “the covetous ones [the Jews] who seek a false history for themselves to wake up from their nightmare, as the Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., including the Temple Mount and Western Wall) is an Islamic waqf”
- PA: “The fascist [Israeli] government is giving its extremist settlers a free hand to defile the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and break into it (i.e., visit the Temple Mount)”
- PA: “Our people… with its unity and resistance, will continue to stand firm and defend it with all meansuntil liberating all the Palestinian territories”
- “This fire… is the fire of the Zionist plot to defile the mosque and Judaize Jerusalem.”
- “All of their plans and dreams will be shattered on the rock of our people’s resolve and resistance.”
One of the Palestinian Authority’s annual libels is to blame the 1969 arson at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Israel and claim that it was a Jew who set fire to it. In fact, the arsonist Michael Rohan was an Australian Christian with a mental health disorder. But this doesn’t bother the PA. Along with turning Rohan into an “extremist terrorist Jew” and “a settler,” the PA has expanded the libel and claims that Israel “collaborated and stopped the water to the Al-Aqsa Mosque” and deliberately “delayed in sending fire trucks” [Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, Aug. 21, 2023]
The PA Minister of Religious Affairs repeated the libel, claiming Israel is getting closer to its goal, which is “eliminating the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque”:
PA Minister of Religious Affairs Hatem Al-Bakri: “There is a plan by the occupation that has targeted this site [the Al-Aqsa Mosque]. This plan was prepared 50 years before the establishment of the State of Israel [in 1948]. They prepared these plans, and they are carrying them out every day. They are attempting to reach the final point, which iseliminating the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the acts of harm are continuing against all the Christian and Muslim holy sites.”
[Official PA TV News, Aug. 21, 2023]
This year, the anniversary of the arson served additional purposes; the repetition of another PA libel: That Israel plans to destroy the mosque and build the “alleged Temple,” – ‘alleged’ because the PA claims there never was a Temple - and to incite religious violence:
One of the PA’s top religious authorities, the PA Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, warned of Israel’s “plans” to “put their hands on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque” and a resulting “fierce religious war”:
“[PA] Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories and preacher at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Muhammad Hussein called on the civilians to ascend to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and fill it during the anniversary of its arson by the occupation authorities…
He explained that… the occupation authorities are attempting to execute the extremist settlers’ plan to put their hands on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque... as part of the series of extremist acts that the occupation authorities and extremists are carrying out to harm Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this is in order to tighten their control over them and build the alleged Temple, Heaven forbid.He warned against the consequences of this aggression, and against the outbreak of a fierce religious war.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 22, 2023]
Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA describe any presence of Jews at the Temple Mount as a “defilement” and an “invasion” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Two days later, the PA’s Supreme Fatwa Council – headed by the same Grand Mufti – further tried to stir up emotions among Palestinians, claiming that Israel has “begun to carry out successive measures to announce the execution of building their alleged Temple.” The council repeated the PA’s general claim that the Temple Mount – referred to in its entirety by the PA as “the Al-Aqsa Mosque” - is “an Islamic waqf that belongs to the Muslims only.” With an antisemitic twist, the council called on “the covetous” – i.e., the Jews – to forget their “false history”:
Headline: “The [Palestinian Supreme] Fatwa Council: The blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., including the Temple Mount and Western Wall) is an Islamic waqf that belongs to the Muslims only”
“The [Palestinian] Supreme Fatwa Council… said that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is currently experiencing a painful and serious reality, not because the occupation has succeeded in reaching an advanced stage in taking control of it, but rather because the occupation authorities have now begun to carry out successive measures to announce the execution of building their alleged Temple…The council called on the covetous ones [the Jews] who seek a false history for themselves to wake up from their nightmare, as the Al-Aqsa Mosque is an Islamic waqf (i.e., an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law; see note below) of all the Muslims in the entire world, and they will defend it with all their might.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Aug. 24, 2023]
To combat the “defilement” of “extremist settlers,” the Palestinian National Council - the legislative body of the PLO - called for violence and terror, using the PA euphemism “resistance,” vowing that “Palestine” will be liberated:
“The [Palestinian] National Council (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO) said… our people wherever it is, with its unity and resistance, will continue to stand firm and defend it [the Al-Aqsa Mosque] with all means (i.e., Palestinian term that also refers to the use of violence and terror) until liberating all the Palestinian territories, and foremost among them the jewel in the crown, Jerusalem, from the occupation… It said: ‘The fact that the fascist [Israeli] government is giving its extremist settlers a free hand to defile the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and break into (i.e., visit the Temple Mount) it will not give it legitimacy or sovereignty over one inch of this blessed land. All of their plans and dreams will be shattered on the rock of our people’s resolve and resistance.’”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 22, 2023]
The terms “all means,” “all means of resistance,” “all forms,” are used by PA leaders to include using all types of violence, including deadly terror against Israeli civilians such as car rammings, stabbings and shootings, as well as throwing rocks and Molotov Cocktails.
An anonymous preacher speaking on the anniversary of the 1969 arson in a mosque in Ramallah stated that “the fire of the Zionist plot to defile the mosque and Judaize Jerusalem” is “still burning”:
Anonymous preacher: “This fire, which is still burning us at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, and Palestine until now – it is the fire of the Zionist plot to defile the mosque and Judaize Jerusalem.”
[Official PA TV, Aug. 18, 2023]
Likewise, PLO official Ramzi Khouri urged to “mobilize all efforts” to save the mosque from the “the projects and plans of Judaization”:
“PLO Executive Committee member [and Chairman of the Palestine National Fund (i.e., declared a terror organization by Israel; see note below)] Ramzi Khouri called to mobilize all efforts to save the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first direction of [Muslim] prayer and the third holiest mosque, from the projects and plans of Judaization that the Israeli occupation government and extremist settler and religious Jewish groups are carrying out.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 21, 2023]
All these statements echo a call by PA Chairman Abbas in which he urged Palestinians to “escalate the peaceful popular resistance” – a euphemism for terror.
The following are longer excerpts of the statements cited above:
Headline: “The [PA grand] mufti calls to ascend to the Al-Aqsa Mosque”
“[PA] Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories and preacher at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque Sheikh Muhammad Hussein called on the civilians to ascend to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and fill it during the anniversary of its arson by the occupation authorities (sic., refers to 1969 arson by Michael Rohan, an Australian Christian with a mental health disorder).
In a statement yesterday [Aug. 21, 2023], Sheikh Hussein said: ‘Even though 54 years have passed since the fire was put out, it continues to run rampant in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and in Jerusalem, and this is in the shadow of the continued acts of Judaization.’ …
He explained that through all of this, the occupation authorities are attempting to execute the extremist settlers’ plan to put their hands on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque... as part of the series of extremist acts that the occupation authorities and extremists are carrying out to harm Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this is in order to tighten their control over them and build the alleged Temple, Heaven forbid.He warned against the consequences of this aggression, and against the outbreak of a fierce religious war.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 22, 2023]
Muhammad Hussein also serves as Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council Chairman and Deputy Secretary-General and acting Secretary-General of the PLO Popular National Conference of Jerusalem.
Michael Rohan - Australian Christian with a mental health disorder who set fire to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969. For years, the Palestinian Authority has falsely accused Israel of setting the fire.
Headline: “The [Palestinian] National Council on the anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Mosque arson: The occupation will not succeed in erasing the history and culture of Jerusalem”
“The [Palestinian] National Council (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO) said… in a statement yesterday [Aug. 21, 2023] for the 54th anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Mosque arson (i.e., by Michael Rohan, an Australian Christian with a mental health disorder) that this despicable crime, the rest of the fascist occupation’s crimes against the cultural and religious identity and history of Jerusalem, and the incessant acts of Judaization have not succeeded and will not succeed in erasing its culture and its Islamic rootedness. This is because our people wherever it is, with its unity and resistance, will continue to stand firm and defend it with all means (i.e., Palestinian term that also refers to the use of violence and terror) until liberating all the Palestinian territories, and foremost among them the jewel in the crown, Jerusalem, from the occupation.
The council called to adhere to the Palestinian people’s unity in order to defend Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque against the danger of the settlements and Judaization… It said: ‘The fact that the fascist [Israeli] government is giving its extremist settlers a free hand to defile the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and break into it will not give it legitimacy or sovereignty over one inch of this blessed land. All of their plans and dreams will be shattered on the rock of our people’s resolve and resistance.’”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 22, 2023]
The terms “all means,” “all means of resistance,” “all forms,” are used by PA leaders to include using all types of violence, including deadly terror against Israeli civilians such as stabbings and shootings, as well as throwing rocks and Molotov Cocktails.
The PA and its leaders misrepresent all of the Temple Mount as an integral part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Therefore, they vilify any presence of Jews on the mount as a "break-in." It should be noted that Jews who visit the Temple Mount only enter some sections of the open areas, and do not enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock. Israeli police ban Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount because of threats of violence by Palestinians.
Official PA TV newsreader: “Today [Aug. 21, 2023] is the 54th anniversary of the burning of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque by an extremist terrorist Jew named Michael Denis [Rohan] (sic., Rohan was an Australian Christian with a mental health disorder).”
Official PA TV reporter: “August 21 cannot pass by without notice in the memories of the people of Jerusalem who saw the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque arson. On this date in 1969, a settler (sic.) of Australian origin named Michael Denis Rohan set the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s Southern Mosque (i.e., the Al-Aqsa Mosque itself) on fire.”
[Official PA TV News, Aug. 21, 2023]
The Fatah Commission of Information and Culture posted a video on its Facebook page
The video, which features the logo of Fatah-run Awdah TV in the upper right corner, shows images from the 1969 Al-Aqsa Mosque arson.
Text on screen: “The 1969 Al-Aqsa Mosque arson
On Aug. 21, 1969, an Australian extremist named Michael Denis (i.e., an Australian Christian with a mental health disorder) broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Bani Ghanim Gate.
He set the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s Southern Mosque (i.e., the Al-Aqsa Mosque itself) on fire.
The fire was set on the margins of the mosque, on its roof, and on its decorations. The flames eliminated all of its contents. The flames also eliminated the Saladin [Al-Ayyubi] pulpit.
The occupation collaborated and stopped the water to the Al-Aqsa Mosque; it also delayed in sending fire trucks (sic., Israeli firefighters – who eventually put out the fire and not Palestinians – arrived within minutes but rioting Muslims interfered with their work and broke the only fire hydrant at the site; PMW found no evidence for claims that Israel cut off the water).
[Palestinian] civilians hurried to put out the flames while vehicles were coming from Ramallah and from the distant cities, before the fire trucks reached Jerusalem.
The occupation forces arrested the arsonist but released him afterwards on the claim that he was crazy.
The restoration work continued on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque until 1986.
The iron pulpit remained in its place until it was replaced in 2006 with a donated pulpit in the shape of the Saladin [Al-Ayyubi] pulpit, which the flames completely destroyed.”
[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture,
Facebook page, Aug. 21, 2023]
Headline: “Khouri calls to mobilize all efforts to save the first direction of [Muslim] prayer from the danger of Judaization and division”
“PLO Executive Committee member [and Chairman of the Palestine National Fund (i.e., declared a terror organization by Israel; see note below)] Ramzi Khouri called to mobilize all efforts to save the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first direction of [Muslim] prayer and the third holiest mosque, from the projects and plans of Judaization that the Israeli occupation government and extremist settler and religious Jewish groups are carrying out.
In a statement yesterday [Aug. 20, 2023], Khouri said that the crime of burning the Al-Aqsa Mosque 54 years ago by extremist Michael Rohan (i.e., an Australian Christian with a mental health disorder) on Aug. 21, 1969, has continued to this very day…
On this date in 1969 an extremist Jewish terrorist with Australian citizenship named Michael Denis [Rohan] (sic., Rohan was not Jewish) broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and deliberately set the eastern part of the mosque on fire…
Our people succeeded at the time in saving what remained of the Al-Aqsa Mosque before the flames completely destroyed it. Fire trucks from Hebron, Bethlehem, and various areas in the West Bank… hurried to save the Al-Aqsa Mosque, even though the Israeli occupation authorities attempted to stop them, and even though they cut off the flow of water to the area around the mosque on the day of the arson (sic., Israeli firefighters – who eventually put out the fire and not Palestinians – arrived within minutes but rioting Muslims interfered with their work and broke the only fire hydrant at the site; PMW found no evidence for claims that Israel cut off the water). Likewise, fire trucks of the occupation’s Jerusalem Municipality were deliberately late so as not to participate in putting out the fire.”
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 21, 2023]
Ramzi Khouri also serves as chairman of the PA Presidential Committee for Church Affairs.
PNF declared terror organization by Liberman: Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman declared the Palestine National Fund of the PLO a terror organization on March 16, 2017. The fund manages financial aid received by the PLO from different sources. The Israeli Ministry of Defense declare the fund a terror organization due to the fund's "massive support for elements responsible for committing severe acts of terrorism against Israel," and stated that the fund serves "as a significant financial pipeline for tens of millions of shekels that are transferred on a monthly basis to security prisoners held in Israel for committing acts of terrorism and to members of their families," and that "the fund also supports family members of terrorists who were wounded and killed while perpetrating acts of terrorism against Israel." It also stated that "the necessary steps will be taken, in Israel and abroad, to seize and forfeit the property and money belonging to the fund.”
Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA uses the Palestine National Fund to transfer money for terrorist salaries to the PLO.
Headline: “The [Palestinian Supreme] Fatwa Council: The blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is an Islamic waqf that belongs to the Muslims only”
“The [Palestinian] Supreme Fatwa Council… said that the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is currently experiencing a painful and serious reality, not because the occupation has succeeded in reaching an advanced stage in taking control of it, but rather because the occupation authorities have now begun to carry out successive measures to announce the execution of building their alleged Temple…The council called on the covetous ones [the Jews] who seek a false history for themselves to wake up from their nightmare, as the Al-Aqsa Mosque is an Islamic waqf (i.e., an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law; see note below) of all the Muslims in the entire world, and they will defend it with all their might…
On a different matter, the Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council emphasized the fatwa (i.e., Islamic religious ruling) it issued regarding the ban on participating or running in the municipal elections of occupied Jerusalem.It explained that this constitutes a violation of religious law and national consensus that rejects this, because the [Jerusalem] Municipality is the occupation authorities’ main arm for carrying out the settlement and Judaization projects in the city.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, Aug. 24, 2023]
A waqf is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law. Palestinians define all of Israel as waqf, and thereby Israel exists on Islamic holy land. Palestinian leaders have explained that under Islamic law Muslims are commanded to free the waqf from non-Muslims.