Islamic-Christian front: “Israel is still carrying attacks against the Al Aqsa Mosque”

Wednesday August 22, 2007 00:15 by IMEMC Staff

Dr. Hasan Khater, general-coordinator of the for the Islamic-Christian Front for Defending Jerusalem, stated on Tuesday, in an event commemorating the 38th anniversary of  burning the Al Aqsa mosque by a fundamental Jew, that the mosque is still endangered and isolated by Walls installed by Israel.

Al Aqsa mosque fire

Khater stated that the fire which broke out forty years ago was controlled by the unity of the Palestinians who rushed to save the mosque.

He added that the current internal crises in Palestine, and the ongoing internal conflict, shifted the Palestinians away from defending Jerusalem and the Al Aqsa Mosque, and that the ongoing internal clashes will be a resemblance “of the fuel which will burn Jerusalem and its holy places”.

Khater also confirmed that the Al Aqsa mosque is still under attack, and that the danger did not vanish, as some fundamental Jewish groups are still planning to attack it.

“These groups still want the mosque to be demolished”, Khater stated, “they want to install a temple in its place, they claim that their claimed temple was demolished and that the Al Aqsa mosque was built on its place”.

He added that he hopes that all Arab leaders, and residents, will be united and act in order to place the al Aqsa mosque under international protection which guarantees its safety, and guarantees unobstructed access to the Muslim worshipers to the mosque, as well as guaranteeing free access of all worshipers  to the holy places in Jerusalem.

The Al Aqsa mosque was burnt on the morning of August 21, 1969; the fired gutted the southeastern wing of the mosque, known as Haram Al Sharif (Noble sanctuary).

The fire also destroyed one-thousand year old wood, and ivory pulpit. After the fire, Jordan fixed the mosque at a cost of nearly 9 million US dollars.

Moreover, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) issued a press release calling for the protection of the Al Aqsa mosque.

The DFLP stated that the Israeli fundamentalist Dennis Michael, who carries an Australian citizenship, with the support of fundamental Jewish groups, burnt the set the mosque on fire 38 years ago.

The DFLP called for an international protection to the Palestinians and their holy sites, especially since Israel is ongoing with its digging under the Al Aqsa mosque which endangers its foundations.

Also, the DFLP called on Fateh and Hamas movements to end their ongoing conflict, and called on Hamas to end its military coup in the Gaza Strip.

The DFLP stated that all factions must engage in dialogue based on the Cairo agreement signed between the factions in March 2005, and the unity deal signed in June 2006.

The Front called on the Arab and Islamic states, and the international community, to act in order to pressure the Israeli government to stop its violations against the occupied holy city of Jerusalem.  

jerusalem | holy sites | news report saed at imemc dot org