Abbas libels Israel: Israel trying to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque
Abbas libels Israel:
“[Israel’s] evil and dangerous plot
to destroy Al-Aqsa [Mosque]
and build the alleged Temple"
to destroy Al-Aqsa [Mosque]
and build the alleged Temple"
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas continues to promote the PA libel that Israel is scheming and acting to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In an interview to the Saudi paper Al-Watan, Abbas also added that the Arab and Islamic world should be doing more to respond to Israel's plans:
Abbas: "All these [Israeli] actions indicate an evil and dangerous plot to destroy Al-Aqsa [Mosque] and build the alleged Temple. Unfortunately, these dangers, which are clear for everyone to see, have yet to receive proper Arab, Islamic and international responses."
Abbas' reference to the "alleged Temple" is part of the language the PA routinely uses to deny Israel's history in Jerusalem, as reported by Palestinian Media Watch, and refers to the false PA claim that there never was a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Abbas presents taking Jerusalem from Israel as an Islamic mandate. In a speech at the Arab Summit in 2010, Abbas told Arab leaders that taking Jerusalem away from Israel is a religious Islamic obligation of the highest level, a "fard ayn" - a personal Islamic commandment incumbent on every Muslim:Abbas: "I say to the leaders of our Arab nation and to its peoples: Jerusalem and its environs are a trust that Allah entrusted to us. Saving it [Jerusalem] from the settlement monster and the danger of Judaization and confiscation is a personal [Islamic] commandment [Arabic: fard ayn] incumbent on all of us. Therefore, I call all of you to serious and urgent action to save [Jerusalem] and to make available all possibilities in order to strengthen our resolve and to maintain its historical, cultural and religious character."
[Al-Jazeera TV, March 27, 2010]
Click to viewAbbas has also cited his Islamic beliefs as an indicator that Israel will not endure in Jerusalem. According to him, Jerusalem is only Islamic and therefore Israel's capital is destined to be under Islam:
Abbas: "An oppressor will not last in Jerusalem; oppression will not endure. Victory will come, Allah willing. This land is Allah's best land, for which He chooses the finest of His believers, as was said by the Prophet [Muhammad]."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 11, 2010]
The PA’s policy to deny Israel's history is exemplified by an official PA TV News story about excavations near the Western Wall, which reported that Israeli archeologists “falsify historical facts” because the Temple existed "only in the minds of radical organizations":
"Deep underground beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque, there's [an Israeli] race against the clock to complete the excavations in search of [Jerusalem's] Temple that exists only in the minds of radical organizations... They falsify historical facts by linking them to Jewish history, the traces of which don't exist in our land."
[PA TV (Fatah), Oct. 25, 2012]
Click to view
The PA Mufti Muhammad Hussein on PA TV News likewise denied Jewish history in Jerusalem:
PA Mufti: "They [Jews] want to say or suggest that this place (the Temple Mount) was once, according to their claim, a Temple. However, in truth, there never was a Temple in any period, nor was there, at any time, any place of worship for the Jews or others at the Al-Aqsa Mosque site (i.e., built on the Temple Mount, 705 CE)."
[PA TV (Fatah), Jan. 5, 2012]
Click to view
The Mufti has also repeatedly claimed that Israel plans to destroy the mosque and build the "alleged Temple":
"The [PA] Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories Sheikh Muhammad Hussein summoned citizens to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to fill it and defend it, especially in light of recent threats from extremist settlers and senior Israeli officials who called for an invasion of the mosque and to impose Israeli sovereignty over it in order to build their alleged Temple."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 7, 2013]
PMW has documented that the denial of Jewish history in Jerusalem and in Israel in general remains an important aspect of PA ideology, and is the basis for their ongoing denial of Israel's right to exist.
The following is a longer excerpt of Abbas' interview to the Saudi paper Al-Watan:
Q: "Jewish organizations are making frantic efforts, both visible and hidden, to complete the Judaizing of the Al-Aqsa [Mosque] and to take control of it, especially following the recurring invasions of Al-Aqsa and the attacks on worshipers. What affect do you think this has [both] on the Palestinian level and on the regional level? And do you think that the Arab and Islamic responses are at the adequate level?"
A: "We've said on several occasions that Al-Aqsa is in danger because the excavations Israel is conducting in the Haram (i.e., the Temple Mount) and beneath its foundations put it in danger of collapse. Likewise, preventing West Bank Palestinian worshipers from entering the Mosque and giving radical Jews free rein to enter its courtyards and conduct their religious ceremonies - all these actions indicate an evil and dangerous plot to destroy Al-Aqsa and build the alleged Temple. Unfortunately, these dangers, which are clear for everyone to see, have yet to receive proper Arab, Islamic and international responses. Most countries have not implemented the Arab and Islamic Summit's resolutions for providing assistance to Jerusalem's residents and institutions."
[Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), June 3, 2013]