According to an annual report issued by Al-Quds International Foundation the number of tunnels under the Aqsa Mosque has reached 64 located on the four corners of the holy compound half of them are located to the west of the Mosque along with 32 excavations which puts the Mosque under the threat of collapse.
The report entitled “Eye on the Aqsa” which the PIC obtained a copy of stated that the meeting of the occupation’s government at one of the tunnels under the Aqsa on 28 May 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of the occupation of Jerusalem was a clear message that these excavations are adopted by the top leadership of the occupation which uses it to promote a fabricated Jewish history.
The report confirmed that the Jewish construction in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa has not stopped and the occupation is very close to the actual start of the construction of Beit Halibah /Beit Al-Juhar which is 20 meters away from Al-Buraq Wall and the construction of the Pearl of Israel Synagogue which is about 200 meters away from the Western Wall of the Aqsa. The occupation approved the construction of a synagogue on Mount Mukaber southwest of the Old City.
The report noted that there is an intention by the occupation to judaize the Mount of Olives and some gates of the Aqsa. Cemeteries close to the Aqsa were under Jewish attacks too such as Rahmah and Yusufiyah cemeteries; as some of its parts were confiscated turning them into Talmudic gardens and Jewish graves were planted there.
The Jewish presence at the Aqsa
The report highlights the Jewish presence at the Aqsa on the political security religious and legal levels. During the report’s writing period the occupation sought full control of the Aqsa more than ever so that it becomes the sole authority controlling the Aqsa.
The report noted that the role of the Israeli police was appreciated and praised by the extremist settlers who found in the Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan and the commander of the Israeli police in Jerusalem Yoram Halevi a good pair who contributed greatly to facilitate their incursions into the Mosque.
The report continued: “In addition to the political and security efforts to target the Aqsa there were continued legal efforts to legalize its occupation and the Knesset’s passing of a draft law to ban the call to prayer was an example of this.”
The Knesset approved the first reading of the ‘unified Jerusalem law’ which states that sovereignty over Jerusalem is for Israelis and requires its approval for giving up any part of it including the Aqsa Mosque by gaining the approval of eighty members of the 120-member Israeli Knesset.
In another decision an Israeli court ruled that “there is no authority for Islamic Waqf employees on Jews who visit the Aqsa and that any employee who practices authority over Jews there should be removed for acting “inappropriately” with Jews.
On the religious level the report pointed out that the Jewish Temple Groups continued to call on the settlers to be present at the Aqsa claiming that the situation is ideal as calmness prevails there.
The Aqsa incursions
One of the chapters of the report was dedicated to monitor the attempts of the occupation to achieve a permanent Jewish presence at the Aqsa Mosque through incursions inflammatory and hostile statements and direct intervention in its administration.
The report mentioned the attempts of some Israeli politicians to break into the Aqsa Mosque despite the Prime Minister’s decision to prevent political incursions especially MP Rabbi Yehuda Glick who performed prayers in front of the gate of Qatanin after he was prevented from entering the Mosque on 19 September 2016.
In relation to the tours by Jewish extremists in the holy Islamic compound the number of Israeli settlers storming the holy mosque was about 23661 during the period of writing the report which means an increase in the number by 58% compared to last year which had reached 13733. It could be said that the number of those who stormed the Aqsa this year was the largest since the occupation of the Mosque in 1967.
On the direct intervention in the affairs of the Aqsa the report pointed to the occupation authorities’ persistence in preventing the Islamic Waqf Department from implementing about thirty projects needed by the Mosque for maintenance.
The Israeli occupation forces decided to install electronic gates and smart cameras at the gates of the Aqsa but it was forced to retreat following public pressure.
Reactions and positions
The report pointed out in one of its chapters to the reactions and positions on the developments at the Aqsa. The report showed that Palestinians present at the Aqsa managed to win a historical victory on July 14 2017 by succeeding to break the unjust occupation’s decisions to install gates and cameras at the Aqsa. The Arab official political positions meanwhile continued to decline reaching the level of absolute silence including accepting political bargains over the Aqsa.
In the context of international positions UNESCO issued several important resolutions most notably the resolution that ignored the Jewish labels of the Aqsa Mosque and confirmed the Islamic ones. What angered the Israeli occupation was that UNESCO denied the Jewish claim to the place. The language of the decision was very clear condemning all attacks against Jerusalem and the incursions excavations and attempts to change the existing historical situation at the Aqsa.
Recommendations
The report recommended building on the victory of the Jerusalemites and supporting the popular and religious leadership in Jerusalem and urged the people of Jerusalem and the occupied territories to rebel against the decisions of occupation and to frequent Jerusalem.
The report also called on the people of the Gaza Strip to form a continuous popular movement in various forms and to benefit from their ability to mobilize and organize for the sake of the Aqsa.
It also called on the people of the West Bank not to give up to plans to neutralize them from the conflict and called on them to expand the circle of engagement with the occupation. It called on Palestinians abroad to benefit from their spread in various countries to spread what the Aqsa is being exposed to in all parts of the world.
The report said: “We hope that the Palestinian Authority will take a decision to release the hand of resistance in the West Bank and to secure all the support required for Jerusalem and the Aqsa and not to respond to the suspicious negotiations initiative which the US intends to initiate.”
It called on the factions of the PLO to make great efforts to heal the rift in the Palestinian house calling on the resistance factions parties and forces to work hard to end the division.
In its report Al-Quds Foundation called on Jordan to exert all its resources to preserve the Aqsa while calling on journalists to shed light on the issue of the Aqsa and Jerusalem.
