PA Religious Affairs Minister repeats libel: Israel planning to destroy Al-Aqsa and establish “alleged Temple on its ruins”, igniting religious war “on a daily basis”
Headline: “The [PA] Minister of Religious Affairs warns of its destruction - landslides south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque due to the occupation’s excavations”
“Landslides occurred yesterday [Feb. 26, 2017]… in the town of Silwan (i.e., a neighborhood in Jerusalem) south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque due to the occupation’s excavations, which are continuing in the area…
[PA] Minister of Religious Affairs Yusuf Ida’is warned against the occupation authorities’ reckless attempts to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque through the daily excavations that they are conducting around it. He added that the excavations are pushing the region into a furnace of religious war, which the occupation is igniting on a daily basis through these actions. Ida’is emphasized that these daily actions are nothing but a rejection and violation of the decisions of the international institutions, the latest of which was a UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) resolution late last year (i.e., on Oct. 13, 2016, see note below), which confirmed the exclusive right of the Muslims to the Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., the Temple Mount) and the Al-Buraq Wall (i.e., the Western Wall)…
The [PA] Islamic-Christian Council for Jerusalem and the Holy Places said that the landslides… are the beginning of the collapse of the holy city [of Jerusalem], and primarily the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rest of the historical landmarks of Jerusalem. In its statement, the council emphasized that these collapses are only an initial result of the excavations and tunnels that are eroding the land of the holy city. It noted the large network of tunnels that branches out underneath the Old City in occupied [Jerusalem], particularly underneath the foundations of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which has turned the ground in the holy city into soft and frail ground that is liable to collapse as a result of light rains. It added that what happened yesterday is the best proof of the occupation’s goals: the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to carry out its largest plan – the establishment of the alleged Temple on its ruins.
[PA Islamic-Christian] Council Secretary-General [and Fatah Revolutionary Council member] Hanna Issa emphasized… that this destruction is a severe warning – first of all to the [Arab] residents of Jerusalem and to the Palestinians, and afterwards to all of the Muslims and free people in the world – to save what can be saved of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem before it is too late.”
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) passed a resolution in Paris on “Occupied Palestine” on Oct. 13, 2016, with 24 countries voting in favor, 6 against, and 24 abstentions. The resolution was later approved by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Oct. 26, 2016, in a secret ballot in which ten countries voted in favor of the resolution, two opposed, eight abstained, and one country, Jamaica, was absent.
In the resolution UNESCO refers to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, only as “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” and presents it only as a “Muslim holy site.” The resolution condemns “escalating Israeli aggressions” and Israeli “violations” at the site, and calls on Israel “to respect the integrity, authenticity and cultural heritage of Al-Aqṣa Mosque/Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif… as a Muslim holy site of worship.” The resolution likewise refers to the Western Wall Plaza as the “Al-Buraq Plaza ‘Western Wall Plaza,’” adding quotation marks to the Jewish name for the site.
The resolution was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan.
The countries voting for the resolution were: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Vietnam.
Those voting against it were: Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, the UK, and the US.
Mexico later noted for the record that its position on the issue is one of abstention, although the vote count was unaffected.
Full text here: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002462/246215e.pdf
“Landslides occurred yesterday [Feb. 26, 2017]… in the town of Silwan (i.e., a neighborhood in Jerusalem) south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque due to the occupation’s excavations, which are continuing in the area…
[PA] Minister of Religious Affairs Yusuf Ida’is warned against the occupation authorities’ reckless attempts to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque through the daily excavations that they are conducting around it. He added that the excavations are pushing the region into a furnace of religious war, which the occupation is igniting on a daily basis through these actions. Ida’is emphasized that these daily actions are nothing but a rejection and violation of the decisions of the international institutions, the latest of which was a UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) resolution late last year (i.e., on Oct. 13, 2016, see note below), which confirmed the exclusive right of the Muslims to the Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., the Temple Mount) and the Al-Buraq Wall (i.e., the Western Wall)…
The [PA] Islamic-Christian Council for Jerusalem and the Holy Places said that the landslides… are the beginning of the collapse of the holy city [of Jerusalem], and primarily the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rest of the historical landmarks of Jerusalem. In its statement, the council emphasized that these collapses are only an initial result of the excavations and tunnels that are eroding the land of the holy city. It noted the large network of tunnels that branches out underneath the Old City in occupied [Jerusalem], particularly underneath the foundations of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which has turned the ground in the holy city into soft and frail ground that is liable to collapse as a result of light rains. It added that what happened yesterday is the best proof of the occupation’s goals: the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to carry out its largest plan – the establishment of the alleged Temple on its ruins.
[PA Islamic-Christian] Council Secretary-General [and Fatah Revolutionary Council member] Hanna Issa emphasized… that this destruction is a severe warning – first of all to the [Arab] residents of Jerusalem and to the Palestinians, and afterwards to all of the Muslims and free people in the world – to save what can be saved of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem before it is too late.”
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) passed a resolution in Paris on “Occupied Palestine” on Oct. 13, 2016, with 24 countries voting in favor, 6 against, and 24 abstentions. The resolution was later approved by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on Oct. 26, 2016, in a secret ballot in which ten countries voted in favor of the resolution, two opposed, eight abstained, and one country, Jamaica, was absent.
In the resolution UNESCO refers to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, only as “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” and presents it only as a “Muslim holy site.” The resolution condemns “escalating Israeli aggressions” and Israeli “violations” at the site, and calls on Israel “to respect the integrity, authenticity and cultural heritage of Al-Aqṣa Mosque/Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif… as a Muslim holy site of worship.” The resolution likewise refers to the Western Wall Plaza as the “Al-Buraq Plaza ‘Western Wall Plaza,’” adding quotation marks to the Jewish name for the site.
The resolution was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan.
The countries voting for the resolution were: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Vietnam.
Those voting against it were: Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, the UK, and the US.
Mexico later noted for the record that its position on the issue is one of abstention, although the vote count was unaffected.
Full text here: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002462/246215e.pdf