The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Gaza has issued a warning that the Israeli occupation authority is stealing items of great archaeological value from the south of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The ministry called on Arab states and Muslims around the world to act now to save the third holiest site in Islam.
A spokesman for the ministry said, “The occupation authority’s theft is a dangerous escalation that suggests to us that Al-Aqsa Mosque itself is in danger.” Archaeological excavations have been ongoing for many years as part of the Israeli occupation’s attempt to find evidence of the Jewish heritage in the Holy City. According to the Ministry’s spokesman, these attempts have “failed to find a single historical monument to stand as such evidence”. The Israelis, he added, are deceiving themselves and others, and engaging in theft in the process, in order to forge a Jewish historical base and distort the Islamic heritage.
The ministry said that the occupation authorities took away a variety of historical stones in trucks to unknown destinations. This is apparently part of the Israeli efforts, through deception if necessary, to change the character of Jerusalem. Even street names are being Judaized in the hope that the historic names will be forgotten.
The spokesman stressed that these Israeli thefts put the Arab and Muslim world to the test with regards to the danger facing Al-Aqsa Mosque; some Israeli organisations exist to demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock and build a temple in their place. The largely muted response to these threats may be encouraging Israel to continue with its plans.
Source: Quds Press