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Maps and documents reveal Zionist plot to destroy Al-Aqsa

January 24, 2014 at 1:38 pm

By Abd al-Rahim Rihan

At a recent conference for Arab archaeologists, held at the Smart Village in Egypt, Dr Faraj Allah Yusuf shocked the audience when he announced that the Al-Aqsa Institute has obtained maps and documents giving details of the Zionist plot to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque. As well as the initial destruction of the Magharba Gate the papers indicate that archaeological evidence will be “forged” to provide “relics” from the Noble Sanctuary area “proving” that this is the site of the ancient Temple and, therefore, part of Israel’s heritage.


In his lecture, “Jerusalem: Excavations and ethnic cleansing 2008-2009”, Dr. Yusuf stated that Jerusalem is now facing two major dangers; the first are the Zionists’ excavations which are advancing apace on Al-Aqsa from the southern and western sides, and the second is the ethnic cleansing that is going on in order to empty Jerusalem of its Arab population, Muslims and Christians alike.

 

Dr. Yusuf’s study focuses on the Zionist excavations that were carried out in Jerusalem during 2008 and 2009. A committee of experts from Jordan held a meeting with Israeli officials to discuss the proposed construction of a bridge between the Buraq Square and al-Magharba Gate, but the meeting did not yield any results; it ended with the Jordanians threatening to refer the issue of the bridge to the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.

A network of tunnels has been constructed by the Israelis. One goes from Ain Sloane, south of Al-Aqsa towards Buraq Square and, in February 2008, part of it collapsed behind Alobein washing area. A team from the Al-Aqsa Foundation for the Reconstruction of Islamic Holy Places was able to pass through the hole created by the collapse.

In March the same year, a tunnel 25 metres long was dug near the western wall of the Al-Aqsa compound, to form an emergency corridor under the sacred site, as well as tunnels under Alomaria School. In February 2009, the Israeli Department of Archaeology and the Eliad organization dug a new tunnel from Ain Sloan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is intended to connect with the network of tunnels located underneath Sloan, and reach the junction between the southern and western walls, beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque. This tunnel is 5 metres wide and 4 metres high; it is a substantial engineering feat.

Also in March, the Israelis revealed that they had started work on two new tunnels which will connect the Sharaf neighbourhood, which was destroyed in 1967, and Buraq Square. The first tunnel will be on a horizontal plane and 56 metres long; the other will be vertical and 22 metres from top to bottom. With so many excavations adjacent to the Noble Sanctuary, it is susceptible to collapse at any time.

The Israelis have set out to damage any Islamic relics, and one of the most important excavations is that which is adjacent to the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque; it is 200 metres long. The Israeli authorities, including the Jerusalem municipality, have admitted that the excavations in the al-Magharba wall area are taking place, even though they have led to subsidence in the square in front of Al-Aqsa mosque and next to the western wall, as well as a number of cracks in adjacent houses.

Dr. Faraj Allah Yusuf pointed out that some Israelis have tried to impose sovereignty over Jerusalem and the Noble Sanctuary and that some Jews have stormed the compound to perform religious rituals; this happened in 2007 and again in 2009, when Jewish groups took over Al-Aqsa Mosque and performed Talmudic rituals therein.

On the issue of ethnic cleansing, Dr. Yusuf claimed that the Israeli government is implementing a planned expulsion of Arabs from Jerusalem, starting in neighbourhoods like Sheikh Jarrah, Bustan and Abbasia, and Ras Kahmis in Shufat refugee camp. He added that the Zionists conducted an engineering survey of the Bustan neighbourhood in preparation for the demolition of 88 houses, inhabited by about 1500 people.

This demolition work actually began on 2 February 2009, when the Jerusalem Municipality demolished three homes in the area, followed the next day by the handing over of administrative notices to some residents of Ras Khamis, which advised of the planned demolition of 55 apartments which the authority alleges were built without a licence. It is of note that the Israeli authorities decreed in 2000, under law number 212, that decisions could be made to demolish buildings under the pretext of building without a permit, even if the buildings were actually constructed prior to the establishment of the Zionist state.

During the first three months of 2009, two hundred Jerusalem families received warnings of the demolition of their houses, and the same period saw 30 actual demolitions. In Bustan, the Zionists tried to turn the neighbourhood into an archaeological park for relics they allege are “Jewish”. In August 2009, the Sheikh Rayhan neighbourhood was stormed and Zionist colonist-settlers seized the homes of two families, the Hanouns and Ghaouis.

Israeli research estimates that by 2035 the number of Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem will be about equal. Hence, the plan to drive out as many Arabs as possible to maintain what they claim is the “Jewish nature” of the occupied city. This begs the obvious question: will the Arab and Muslim world make any moves to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Holy City from this Zionist expansion?

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.