Israel has "assailed" archaeology in Jerusalem "through destruction and forgery"

“The Islamic-Christian Council for Jerusalem and the Holy Places warned yesterday that occupation authorities are destroying historical relics from the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate periods. It added that the entrance to (the) Silwan (neighborhood), where antiquities have been destroyed recently, is just one of scores of sites being torn asunder by occupation authority bulldozers during excavation and destruction, in order to prove Zionism’s bogus claims on Jerusalem, and implement their schemes to build the alleged Temple on the ruins of Islamic culture. In addition, the Council warned of the occupation authority’s claims that evidence has been uncovered demonstrating a Jewish and Talmudic right to these sites. The Council called on the international community and all institutions concerned with heritage to intercede immediately and show the whole world that Israel’s claims are a sham. The Council called for groups with expertise in the field of antiquities, to come and examine the finds, and thus protect ancient culture and artifacts all of whose remains are now under the threat of Judaization and destruction. Within the same context, the Council denounced Israel’s bogus claims that a large water basin has been discovered west of the Al-Aqsa mosque, dating to the period of the alleged First Temple, and it declared that these claims are fabricated. The Secretary General of the Council, Dr. Hanna Issa, declared that Israel has crossed all red lines in Jerusalem, and has not left a single site or archeological artifact that it has not assailed through destruction and forgery.”