PLO tells Muslims that "the time has come to defend Al-Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem… from Judaization, and prevent the establishment of the alleged ‘Temple’"

Headline: “The [Palestinian] National Council and the [Palestinian Popular] Struggle Front called to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Judaization”

“The Palestinian National Council (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO) said that the ongoing aggression to which the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is being subjected by the Israeli occupation and the settlers is a continuation of the crime of [the mosque] being burned 52 years ago by extremist Zionist Michael Denis Rohan (see note below -Ed.) on Aug. 21, 1969…

The council said that the time has come for the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and all the Arab and Islamic organizations and bodies and those responsible for the monetary funds that were established in order to defend the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem to bear their full responsibility and carry out all the financial and political obligations in order to save the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Judaization, and to prevent the realization of the occupation’s dream of establishing the alleged ‘Temple.’ …

Likewise, the [Palestinian] Popular Struggle Front… warned against the excavations that are being conducted underneath the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (sic., see note below) and that threaten to collapse it in preparation ‘for building the alleged Temple.’”

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.

Excavations under the Temple Mount - The Israeli daily Haaretz has stated 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]