Desert Peace
Immediately after the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, the Zionists began with the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem to make place for American and European Jews. They began implementing their plans to delete Palestinian Jerusalem and replace it with a Zionist version. One important landmark, a distinctive feature, of Palestinian Jerusalem is Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound which includes Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. To completely wipe out any Palestinian feature of the city, it was necessary to wipe out Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound. To achieve this, a series of attacks, under various naming and excuses, were carried out on the Noble Sanctuary. These include:
1. The complete destruction of the Magharbeh Muslim Quarter and Al-Sharaf neighbourhood adjacent to the walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Hundreds of Palestinian houses and building were demolished and the residents expelled to make place for a Jewish Quarter, and on the ruins of Palestinian homes a Plaza was erected for the Western Wall.
2. Excavations and Digging underneath Al-Haram Ash-Sharif compound and around it with the excuse of archaeology. Under the directions of the Jewish state, a Jewish archaeological team has been digging under and around the Al-Haram Ash-Sharif since 1968 in search of any traces of a Jewish Temple. This weakened the foundations of the compound and threats it with sure collapse. These excavations and tunnel diggings constitute a violation of the Hague and the Geneva Conventions and the various resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UNESCO regarding Jerusalem. In addition to that, the Noble Sanctuary is a holy site to Muslims all over the world and destroying it in search of possible Jewish relics shows disdain and contempt towards Islam. Here is a short chronology of the Zionist excavations:
1967-1968: extensive diggings carried out on an area of 70 m² under the southern wall of Al-Aqsa.
1969: the continuous diggings exceeded an area of 80 m² adjacent to the wall of Al-Aqsa and the demolition of the Magharbeh Quarter.
1970: diggings caused serious cracks that weakened the foundation of the Ottoman Mosque (Ribat Al-Kurd) and the Jawhiriya School.
1972-1974: diggings behind the wall of Al-Aqsa that extend across its southern wall and under the Mihrab pulpit and beneath the Mosque of Omar. In addition, diggings in the eastern side of the wall near the Golden Gate, inflicting extensive damage upon the ancient Islamic cemetery there. And the expansion of the area of the Wailing Wall with the purpose of destroying several historic Islamic buildings in the area surroundings the Wailing Wall.
1977: an Israeli Ministerial Committee endorsed the implementation of this plan, which includes the demolition of several Islamic historic buildings, including the Old Islamic Shari’s Court, the Tankinazia School, the Khalidiya Library, a charitable Zawiya (corner) and the Abu-Median ancient Mosque.
1980: digging a tunnel right underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque.
1981: continuous diggings beneath the Noble Sanctuary, and Israel announces the “discovery” of a tunnel beneath the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock which extends between both, as well as beneath the foundation of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Despite protests the diggings go on.
1988: digging a new tunnel near al-Ghanmeh Gate.
1994: digging a tunnel under the Via Dolorosa which threatens Islamic property around Al-Aqsa compound. Later in the year, Israeli media report that the Israeli authorities plan to start a huge project (“The King’s Hill”) around the Old City. This project is to include a 4-acre park at Salawduha area, roads to the Church of Gethsemane, construction of “Rahma Gate” underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque, and a subterranean road from the Church of Gethsemane to the wall of Silwan.
1995: the Israeli Antiquities Authority announces plans to uncover the ruins of the Solomon Temple, supposedly located under Al-Aqsa Mosque. This involves large-scale digs and violates international law. The UNESCO files a formal protest with the Israeli authorities about the excavations in the Old City, incl. the digging under Al-Aqsa Mosque.
1996: Ateret Cohanim, funded largely through tax-exempt dollars donated by rich American Jews such as Irving Moskowitz, opened a tunnel - excavated in secret night-time operations – that runs the length of Al-Aqsa compound. The controversial tunnel sparked intense clashes that claimed the lives of 60 Palestinians.
1997: new Israeli diggings under Al-Aqsa Mosque.
2009: Israeli authorities begin excavations to build a tunnel near Al-Aqsa Mosque. The tunnel was being built underneath the Arab neighbourhood of Silwan and is now 120 meters long, 1.5 meters wide and 3 meters high. The tunnel is heading north toward Al-Aqsa Mosque and would be connected with another one being built underneath Silwan neighbourhood, with the aim of eventually connecting it with the network of tunnels that leads to Al-Aqsa. The objective of the excavation is to demolish Al-Aqsa and to build the so-called second temple on its ruins.
The continuous diggings and building works beneath the Al-Haram Ash-Sharif using heavy equipment and chemicals to dissolve the rocks weakens the foundations of the compound. These Israeli diggings have lead to the collapse of the main entrance to the Jerusalem’s Waqf department, the collapse of the roof of Othman’s Mosque and the collapse of a stone wall on the Noble Sanctuary. They also allow unauthorized entry to the compound from tunnels. At the same time, the Israeli authorities prevent the Palestinian Islamic Waqf authorities from conducting any building or renovation works in the Noble Sanctuary compound. The Israeli police continuously interferences in Waqf responsibilities, often after the complaints of fanatics Jewish groups who want the compound for themselves, or Israeli archeologists who want to dig up the whole compound in search of a temple. For example, in 1998 the Israeli police ordered the Waqf to stop the renovations of a vault underneath Al-Aqsa that is sometimes used for prayers. A year later, the Israeli police prevented the expansion of a window opened up by the Waqf to provide light and air for basement rooms under the Al-Aqsa. Zionist insolence knows no limit; the “Temple Mount Faithful” fanatics, known for their numerous attempts to destroy Al-Aqsa, even went as far as to petition the Israeli High Court of Justice to order the Israel Antiques Authority to supervise construction works carried out by Palestinians in Al-Haram Ash-Sharif in order to “prevent damage and theft of antiques”.
The above is taken from this report,
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