Fatah official denies Jewish historical connection to Western Wall
Al-Falastinia TV program Special Coverage hosted Fatah Central Committee member Dr. Jamal Muhaisen.
Fatah Central Committee member Dr. Jamal Muhaisen: “We demand that all the lands conquered in [19]67 be under Palestinian control. As I said, the exchange [of territories] will be in the border areas, not in Jerusalem. When you talk about what is known as the ‘Al-Buraq Wall’ (i.e. The Western Wall of the Temple Mount), even the British committee that came to Palestine in the 1930s and examined the issue found that this is the ‘Al-Buraq Wall’ and not the ‘Wailing Wall.’ For this reason, we repeat that any site with a connection to the religious aspect – we believe in freedom of religion and in people’s [right to] visit the religious sites. However, so far, none of the archeologists, not [even] the Israeli ones, have proved the existence of a single remnant of the Israeli side in the places claimed to be theirs. I repeat: we will only agree to all [parts] of Jerusalem conquered in ’67 being a part of the Palestinian state and the capital of the State of Palestine.
Posted on YouTube on Feb. 20, 2014
The 1930 Wailing Wall Commission was appointed by the British government, with the approval of the League of Nations, to settle the matter of the Jews’ and Muslims’ rights and claims to the Western Wall. The commission concluded that the Western Wall had served as a Jewish holy site long before it became a Muslim waqf (an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law). The commission’s final conclusion was that although the Western Wall was a Muslim waqf, it was holy to both Muslims and Jews and therefore the Jews should be granted free access to worship at the site.
Fatah Central Committee member Dr. Jamal Muhaisen: “We demand that all the lands conquered in [19]67 be under Palestinian control. As I said, the exchange [of territories] will be in the border areas, not in Jerusalem. When you talk about what is known as the ‘Al-Buraq Wall’ (i.e. The Western Wall of the Temple Mount), even the British committee that came to Palestine in the 1930s and examined the issue found that this is the ‘Al-Buraq Wall’ and not the ‘Wailing Wall.’ For this reason, we repeat that any site with a connection to the religious aspect – we believe in freedom of religion and in people’s [right to] visit the religious sites. However, so far, none of the archeologists, not [even] the Israeli ones, have proved the existence of a single remnant of the Israeli side in the places claimed to be theirs. I repeat: we will only agree to all [parts] of Jerusalem conquered in ’67 being a part of the Palestinian state and the capital of the State of Palestine.
Posted on YouTube on Feb. 20, 2014
The 1930 Wailing Wall Commission was appointed by the British government, with the approval of the League of Nations, to settle the matter of the Jews’ and Muslims’ rights and claims to the Western Wall. The commission concluded that the Western Wall had served as a Jewish holy site long before it became a Muslim waqf (an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law). The commission’s final conclusion was that although the Western Wall was a Muslim waqf, it was holy to both Muslims and Jews and therefore the Jews should be granted free access to worship at the site.