Israel is "assassinating the identity of Jerusalem, and taking control of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and turning it into a Temple" lies Chairman of The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel
Official PA TV program Talk of the Hour, on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Chairman of The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel Muhammad Barakeh: “They want to create a strip around the Al-Aqsa Mosque that will be empty of Palestinians and will be designated for Israeli and Zionist projects of housing and services, and all of this comes as a prelude to determining facts on the ground at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, if not more than this – and this is the so-called building of the alleged Temple.
On this matter there is a humanitarian issue, regarding Sheikh Jarrah and the neighborhoods around it there is a humanitarian problem of people who are living in their homes (sic., refers to illegal Arab squatters; see note below), there is a national issue of assassinating the identity of [Jerusalem], and there is a religious issue of taking control of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and turning it into a Temple…
On the international level, a conversation is taking place with states and there are states whose positions are advanced compared to the rest of the states, but there are states that are pulling us backwards, like the government of [UK Prime Minister Boris] Johnson in Britain that declared Hamas as a terror organization and banned its activity in Britain, whether political activity or other activity. There needs to be activity on the international level, both with the governments and with public groups.”
The Sheikh Jarrah protests – Israeli courts have ruled that four Palestinian families living in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem are to be evicted because they are living illegally in properties owned by Jews who were expelled in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. The Palestinian residents were offered to stay if they would pay rent, but they refused and instead appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court. In April 2021 the planned eviction led to clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli police, which continued into May and served as one of the pretexts for further violent rioting during the Fatah/Hamas Riot and Rocket War 2021. A hearing scheduled by the Supreme Court for May 10, 2021, was postponed following intensified Palestinian riots and unrest both in Sheikh Jarrah and in East Jerusalem in general.