PA high official: The Temple Mount is “purely Islamic,” including the Western Wall
Headline: “Al-Habbash: The place of prayer at the Gate of Mercy is an integral part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque”
“Supreme Shari’ah Judge and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] Advisor on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habbash said that the Gate of Mercy is an integral part of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, whose territory is 144 dunams (144,000 sq. meters -Ed.), and which includes the plazas, yards, original places of prayer including the place of prayer at the Gate of Mercy (refers to illegal compound that was the focus of Muslim riots in 2019; see note below -Ed.), and the Al-Buraq Wall (i.e., the Western Wall of the Temple Mount).
In a statement today, Sunday [April 23, 2023], Al-Habbash emphasized that the Jerusalem Noble Sanctuary (i.e., the Temple Mount) with all its details is a pure Islamic heritage, to which non-Muslims have no right – which the international institutions have confirmed and recognized since 1930 through the League of Nations (sic., apparently refers to 1930 Wailing Wall Commission that said the Western Wall was holy to both Jews and Muslims; see note below), and also through UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) and other organizations.
After the occupation forces raided the place of prayer at the Gate of Mercy at the Al-Aqsa Mosque yesterday, prevented the mosque’s guards from entering the place of prayer, and destroyed the power supply and the lighting, Al-Habbash said in his statement: ‘The Gate of Mercy is not just a historical heritage, but rather it is first and foremost a part of the Islamic faith as one of the structures accompanying the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and adjacent to it are buried companions of Allah’s Messenger [Muhammad]. Our people will defend all parts and facilities of the Noble Sanctuary with full determination, as part of the battle to defend the faith of Islam on behalf of the entire Islamic nation, which Allah gave it the honor of waging [this battle].’
He emphasized that the occupation’s project in Jerusalem will not be executed as long as we are alive, and as long as one Muslim remains on this land. He also said that the occupation must seek its tales and delusions elsewhere.”
[WAFA, official PA news agency, April 23, 2023]