PA: Jewish history in Jerusalem is "fables and myths" and "imaginary history"

• Israel is looking for "proof of the alleged Temple," invents "imaginary history… in Jerusalem"
   
• "The land of Palestine is an Islamic waqf (i.e., an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law) and no one... would relinquish a grain of its soil"
   
• PA: Jews "defile the Al-Aqsa Mosque" (i.e., the Temple Mount)

Jews visiting the Temple Mount "defile" the Al-Aqsa Mosque according to the Palestinian Authority. The entire Temple Mount belongs to "Muslims only" and Jews have no rights there because it is an Islamic "waqf"- an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law. Moreover, the PA repeatedly lies to its people that there is no Jewish history in Jerusalem, nor in the entire "Palestine" – despite extensive and conclusive archaeological evidence that testifies to the Jewish history in Israel. The PA needs to maintain this false narrative to justify its rejection of Israel's right to exist. 

The following are some recent examples of the denial of Jewish history and the antisemitic notion that Jews on the Temple Mount "defile" the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound – all disseminated by official PA sources:

PA: Jews "are defiling our Al-Aqsa Mosque" 

Official PA TV narrator: "The blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., the Temple Mount) is being subjected to many methodical forms of Judaization, including almost daily invasions of herds of settlers supported by the occupation authorities and under the protection of the Israeli police… They are defiling our Al-Aqsa [Mosque]."

[Official PA TV, filler named Jerusalem, Nov. 13, 2019 and Jan. 28, 2020]

Official PA TV rebroadcast this filler on Jan. 28, 2020 on the day US President Trump revealed his Middle East peace plan.

The PA and its leaders misrepresent all of the Temple Mount as if it is part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Therefore, they vilify any presence of Jews on the mount as an "invasion" as stated by the PA TV narrator. 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.

PA denies Jewish history: Israel looking for "proof of the alleged Temple," invents "imaginary history… in Jerusalem"

Official PA TV narrator: “The occupation authorities intended to excavate a number of tunnels under the surroundings of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in an attempt to find proof or artifacts of the alleged Temple. A search for Jewish archaeological artifacts is likely to constitute proof of the historical presence of Jews in Jerusalem, as the occupation authorities are striving to invent an imaginary history while claiming the connection of the archaeological finds to the Hebrew period in Jerusalem.”

[Official PA TV, filler named Jerusalem, Nov. 13, 2019 and Jan. 28, 2020]

PA: The Jewish "alleged Temple story" in Jerusalem is "a mix of fables and myths"

Official PA TV narrator: "Everything has changed here [in Jerusalem] because of the occupation's actions and its plans, and everything is liable to collapse. [Israel's excavations are] because of the invention of the alleged Temple story that is nothing but a mix of fables and myths created for political reasons that targeted Palestine and marked Jerusalem as a destination. It serves the goals of the occupation and colonialism. This is the greatest crime of distorting history and Judaizing geography."

[Official PA TV News, Jan. 17, 2020]

As an element of the denial of Jewish history in the area, the PA declares the entire land of "Palestine" – which includes all of the State of Israel – is "an Islamic waqf" - an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law. Therefore no Muslim is permitted to allow permanent Israeli sovereignty over even a small part of it. 

The PA Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein reiterated this in response to US President Trump’s peace plan:

"Harming the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (i.e., rights for Jews on the Temple Mount) is harming every Muslim in the world, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque will never be anything but the Muslims’ alone, with no partnership with anyone else."

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 1, 2020]

The PA’s Supreme Shari’ah Judge and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash also stated that "Jerusalem is an exclusive Islamic right" and that Israel is inventing "a false narrative," demanding that Muslims expose it:

"[Expose] the false narrative that the occupation state – and behind it the American administration – is disseminating, and emphasize that Jerusalem is Islamic and Arabic, that it is an exclusive Islamic right, and that non-Muslims have no right to it."

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 28, 2020]

Recently preachers in the Qalqilya district also stressed the PA’s view that "the land of Palestine is an Islamic waqf":

"In the Qalqilya district, the preachers emphasized that the land of Palestine is an Islamic waqf (i.e., an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law) and no one exists on its pure land who would relinquish a grain of its soil, and President Mahmoud Abbas is defending the borders and is the best trustee of our land and our holy sites."

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 15, 2020]

Palestinian Media Watch has exposed numerous PA and Fatah statements like this. The position of official PA TV is that even the Western Wall - currently the most holy place for Jews to pray – belongs to Muslims. Fatah officials have repeated they "won’t relinquish a grain of soil from historical Palestine" because "Palestine" stretches "from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea."

The following are longer excerpts of the reports cited above:

Headline: “For two weeks the occupation soldiers have been attacking the worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the early morning hours”
“In his sermon, blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque preacher [and PA] Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein saluted the residents of Jerusalem and the Palestinian people who came to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and emphasized that there will be no concession on the Islamic holy sites and Jerusalem.
The sheikh said in his sermon that the deal of the century (i.e., refers to US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, which he presented with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Jan. 28, 2020) is a deal that will fail in light of the unity of our Palestinian people’s ranks in defense of their land… and that harming the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is harming every Muslim in the world, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque will never be anything but the Muslims’ alone, with no partnership with anyone else.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 1, 2020]

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.

“Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine [and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice] Mahmoud Al-Habbash participated as the head of an official Palestinian delegation in the discussions of the International Al-Azhar Conference on Renovation of Islamic Thought…
He demanded that the participants in the conference… expose the false narrative that the occupation state – and behind it the American administration – is disseminating, and emphasize that Jerusalem is Islamic and Arabic, that it is an exclusive Islamic right, and that non-Muslims have no right to it.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 28, 2020]

Headline: “The mosque preachers and imams supported the [PA] president’s positions against the deal of the century”
“The preachers and imams of the mosques in all the homeland’s districts yesterday [Feb. 14, 2020] emphasized their full support for [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas against the deal of the century (i.e., refers to US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan; see note below), his adherence to the fundamental national principles, and his stand against all the pressures that want to reduce our legal national rights…
In the Qalqilya district, the preachers emphasized that the land of Palestine is an Islamic waqf (i.e., an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law) and no one exists on its pure land who would relinquish a grain of its soil, and President Mahmoud Abbas is defending the borders and is the best trustee of our land and our holy sites.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 15, 2020]

Note, PA TV News repeated the claims that Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem are endangered by excavations, including excavations under the Temple Mount - The PA regularly claims that Israeli archaeological excavations in Jerusalem endanger Arab residents and their neighborhoods, and that Israel excavates under the Temple Mount, thereby endangering the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Regarding the Temple Mount claim, the Israeli daily Haaretz has reported that the excavations do not reach beneath the mosque: "Despite complaints from the Islamic Movement and Palestinian groups, not a single dig penetrates beneath the [Temple] Mount." [Haaretz, May 24, 2016]
As for claims that Israeli excavations endanger Arab residents of Jerusalem and their neighborhoods, and particularly of Silwan – a predominantly Arab neighborhood near the Old City of Jerusalem, built above the ruins of ancient Jerusalem – the Israeli Supreme Court has rejected several such petitions. These petitions targeted excavations in the City of David archaeological site, which have been conducted for around 50 years and unearthed a multitude of artifacts, proving the Jewish presence in the city from the First Temple period that began in approximately 1000 BCE.
Israeli Supreme Court Justice Edna Arbel responded to one petition (High Court of Justice file 9252/080) against the excavations by saying: “The [Arab] petitioners did not present any evidence that would substantiate a connection between the excavations and the damages that were allegedly caused to their homes… It had been made clear that the excavation work… was being done under the supervision and accompaniment of professionals.”
In a separate ruling (High Court of Justice file 1308/08), Arbel said: “Notwithstanding the claims of the petitioners, it was explained that the work is being done under professional engineering supervision and as part of an approved construction plan… The work is performed with the accompaniment and supervision of professionals, not as the petitioners claim, and it is clear that these professionals are not only concerned about the completion of the work… but also are aware of their obligation to make sure the work is done in a way that will not harm the petitioners, their family members, or their property.”
According to reports, many Arab residents of Silwan even worked on the excavations until threats from the PA and Hamas forced them to stop.
Source: http://jcpa.org/article/the-truth-about-jerusalems-city-of-david-the-lies-about-silwan/