PA TV host’s libel: “Israel erases” and “alters antiquities” from the Arab and Islamic cultural heritage to fit their “myths”

Official PA TV host and Jerusalem researcher Fakhri Abu Diab: There are many antiquities under the ground in Silwan, which testify to the identity of this community. It contains Canaanite, Byzantine-Roman, and of course Arab-Islamic relics. Thanks to its proximity to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the existence of ancient tunnels that are lower than the old city [of Jerusalem] and the Al-Aqsa Mosque – water flows to the Silwan area. Over time the aqueducts and holes were covered, as were the streams. The occupation exploited this when it opened them and turned them into [underground] tunnels. These tunnels are full of antiquities that the occupation is working to erase, change, and remove from them the Arab and Islamic cultural heritage. It actsto alter them so they will reflect myths and narratives that the occupation wants."

[Official PA TV, Outside the Walls, Dec. 6, 2024]

Silwan is a predominantly Arab neighborhood near the Old City of Jerusalem, built above ruins of ancient Jerusalem.