Ahlul Bayt News Agency ; GAZA -- Hamas MP and chairman of the International Quds Institution - Gaza branch Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOF) continues to violate Jerusalem under official supervision, follow-up, and encouragement.
Dr. Abu Halabiya said at a news conference in Gaza on Tuesday that, despite claims to peace talks, the IOA has never ceased to attempt to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque and infringe on the people of Jerusalem.
In their last major violation against the Mosque, the MP noted, Israeli authorities extended power lines to the Mosque’s floor which damaged Islamic monuments in the area.
In August several Palestinian homes in Jerusalem were demolished and seized. 65 graves were excavated inside the historical Islamic Ma’manullah graveyard despite court rulings for a temporary freeze on digging.
The IOA-controlled Jerusalem municipality approved building 40 new settlement units in the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement, as settlement activity went on the rise despite the Israeli government’s decision for a settlement freeze.
Abu Halabiya criticized the decision by Fatah’s authority in Ramallah to resume peace talks with Israel, saying they will not be conducive with the Palestinian cause, but the sole beneficiary of the negotiations is Israel, who has exploited the talks to carry on violations in Jerusalem and achieve its objectives.
In a related context, an Israeli court in Jerusalem has approved a project to build a bridge linking the wailing wall and the Maghareba gate near the entrance to the Aqsa Mosque, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported Tuesday. Islamic officials condemned the court decision saying Islamic organizations in charge of the Mosque never authorized anyone to make it, while the construction would cause damage to Islamic and historical artifacts at the site.
“Our position has been clear since the beginning of the Maghareba hill’s collapse in 2004, which is that the path must be restored as was before the collapse,” Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, Director of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to an uproar caused by previous Israeli construction on the Mosque.
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