We strongly disagree with the Saudi authorities.  Al Aqsa is the third holiest site for all Muslims; and we must show our presence and attachment to the mosque by visiting it. By visiting Al Aqsa and Jerusalem as Muslims we do not acknowledge the illegal occupation by Israel; however we show our attachment to Al Aqsa and show the importance of it to Muslims. Al Aqsa is one of the three mosques which we can have the intention to visit it.

By choosing not to visit Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem, we are only helping the Zionist to keep the Muslims away for the holy mosque.  Zionists are already spreading propaganda that the Muslims have no roots in Jerusalem or Al-Aqsa; we should not let this happen! It is our right as Muslims to visit Al-Aqsa no matter who is occupying the land. Only by being attached to Al-Aqsa will our children also be attached to it and the whole Muslim Ummah!!

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Saudi authorities: We will punish Al Areefi if he travels to Jerusalem
Thursday, 08 April 2010

"Traveling to countries on which a travel ban is imposed without obtaining a special permission from the authorities leads to penalization."

The official spokesman of Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Passports, Major Badr El Malik, said that any Saudi who travels to a country on which the Saudi government imposes a travel ban will be charged and penalised accordingly.

Commenting on the announcement made by Saudi preacher Dr. Mohamed Al Areefi that he intended to visit Jerusalem to shoot an episode of his show, El Malik said, "We won’t hold him accountable for statements he makes on TV since these could be sheer propaganda… But if the Ministry of Interior verifies that a Saudi citizen actually went to one of the countries on which the government imposes a travel ban, he will be penalized no matter who he is."

In statements that El Malik made to the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan – which it published Wednesday, April 7, he said that "traveling to countries on which a travel ban is imposed without obtaining a special permission from the authorities leads to penalization."

Sheikh Mohamed Al Areefi had announced, through Iqra satellite channel, his intention to travel to Jerusalem next week in order to shoot an episode of his show "Leave Your Fingerprint", although the Saudi authorities ban traveling to Israel.

On his part, the former member of the Interior Ministry’s Advisory Committee, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Yaeesh, said in comments published in the same newspaper that Muslims around the world are eager to visit Al Aqsa Mosque but they don’t go there in protest of Israel’s control of it, as visiting Jerusalem is considered to be a form of recognizing Israel.

Bin Yaeesh explained that warding off evil takes priority over bringing benefits, and that visiting Israel involves great evils, including breaking Muslim unity and accusing Saudi Arabia of standing behind the preacher’s visit to Israel.

Erdoğan: Islamic World To Defy Every Threat Against Jerusalem
[ 11 May 2010 07:32 ]

Baku – APA. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that those who tried to destroy Jerusalem would never be able to destroy the brotherhood and solidarity there, and Islamic world and Muslims would defy all attacks, threats and dark scenarios against Jerusalem, APA reports quoting turkishny.com web-page.

Erdogan recalled that OIC was founded after an inhumane attack on Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem in 1969. Noting that the minbar in Masjid al-Aqsa was destroyed in the attack, Erdogan said that it was replaced in 2007 after Turkish craftsmen rebuilt it. He added that those, who attempted to destroy Jerusalem, would only destroy the Middle East; they were not able to destroy the brotherhood and solidarity there. 

Erdogan said that Jerusalem was common heritage of all humanity and holy place of over two billion Muslims. He added that Jerusalem was a holy place for Christians and Jewish people too.

He noted that Islamophobia was dangerous for world peace as much as antisemitism and racism were.

He said that Turkey had always supported efforts for Middle East peace process as well as initiatives to find permanent solution to Israel-Palestinian issue.

Erdogan said that they wanted to end not only the threats against Jerusalem but also the inhumane condition in Gaza. He added that Turkish non-governmental organizations were still in difficulty to reach Gaza.

He said that while the tragedy was continuing in Gaza, it would be too optimistic to think that peace process would be concluded positively in Middle East.

Erdogan said that Palestinian state should rapidly be established within 1967 borders, adding that all parties and actors should focus on a solution for this target.

Speaking at the second extraordinary meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)-member states (PUOICM) in Istanbul, Erdogan hoped that the meeting would yield beneficial results for the world and Middle East peace.

Israel has prepared two crisis scenarios: The first is imposing a massive forced migration, i.e., ethnic cleansing, on Palestinians living in the West Bank, and the second is resuming construction on the Hurva (Ruins) Synagogue, with the ultimate purpose of destroying Masjid al-Aqsa.

As is known, Israel has long-standing ambitions to rebuild Solomon’s Temple. According to doctrine formulated in modern times, the Zionist mission will reach its ultimate goal with the construction of the temple. This mission - which has been translated into the practice of picking up Jews scattered around the world and bringing them to the Palestinian territories while forcing Palestinians to abandon their homeland just to free space for each arriving Jew - will not end until the temple is built. There is an ongoing gradual progress toward rebuilding Solomon’s Temple. Rebuilding the Hurva Synagogue is a major step towards the realization of this mission.
The reconstruction of the synagogue was approved in 2001. The purpose is to give the impression that Israel had existed for thousands of years in these lands as well as to give the Palestinian territories a dominant Hebrew character. The Israeli government issued a decree to transfer the construction to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. This foundation is financed by the Israeli Prime Ministry and tends to Western Wall affairs. A fund of $12 million was allocated for the construction. This money comes from the Israeli government and the Jewish diaspora.

If the synagogue had been built just for the purpose of worship, no one would raise any objection to it. However, a closer look at the project details reveals that the synagogue is being used instrumentally. According to its design, the synagogue is 24 meters high and has 12 windows and a white dome, and it is located just 10 meters from the Western Wall. Palestinian Supreme Muslim Council President and Masjid al-Aqsa imam Sheikh Ekrima Sa’id Sabri says that this is a major preparation for the destruction of Masjid al-Aqsa. Although the apparent purpose of the construction of the synagogue is to create a Jewish historical and spatial identity in Jerusalem, it has ambitions going beyond it. If the synagogue is built according to this design, its outer appearance will be similar to that of Masjid al-Aqsa, which is the symbol of Jerusalem, and this will overshadow the silhouette of Masjid al-Aqsa. [...]

Being an ancient and holy settlement, Jerusalem cannot be reduced to a single character. Many people have lived in this city, and the historic places where Solomon reigned were all destroyed. The city accommodates visible places of worship and holy places that belong not only to Jews, but also to Christians. However, Islam has given to Jerusalem its dominant architectural and civic character. During the Muslim rule, from the time of the Caliph Umar to the Ottomans, Jerusalem became a holy city where the practitioners of all religions could freely express themselves and live together in peace under the overarching umbrella of Islam.

I have difficulty in understanding this: Why do the Jews who invaded the region starting in the mid-20th century not pay respect to the pluralistic sacredness of this city as was the case during Muslim and Ottoman rule? And why does the Western world feign blind and deaf while Christian and Islamic places of worship and structures are being destroyed?

Judaization project for the area south of Al Aqsa

Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA.ir), The Israeli occupation forces started a large scale judaization project to turn the area south of Al Aqsa Mosque into a biblical and Talmudic passages related to the alleged temple.

According to a report by Al-Aqsa Institute for Waqf and Heritage, the Israeli forces started Thursday construction work as part of Jeudaization tracks that include historical Islamic walls of the old town in Jerusalem.

The report affirmed that this project was preceded by large scale excavation work that continued for months.

The institute urged Islamic, Arab and Palestinian move to save Al Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem from the judaization plans.

More clashes in al-Aqsa as tensions sore
Fri, 12 Mar 2010  
 
Israeli forces have clashed with Palestinian worshippers after the Friday prayers at the highly revered al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem (al-Quds).

Reports from al-Quds said at least one Palestinian worshipper was injured in the clashes that broke out at the third holiest Islamic site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

Four others were reportedly arrested for throwing stones at Israeli forces and were taken in for questioning.

Tensions have been high in al-Quds since last week when Israeli forces stormed the courtyards of the mosque.

A week earlier, Tel Aviv announced a plan to include two holy shrines on Palestinian land in the West Bank cities of Hebron (al-Khalil) and Bethlehem in a so-called heritage restoration project.

The decision sparked outrage among Palestinians who vehemently denounced the decision and staged vast street protests against the Israeli administration's confiscation of the holy sites.

On Friday, Tel Aviv closed off the occupied West Bank in response to a security request from Israeli security forces, who cited worries about protests pouring from al-Quds into the rest of the West Bank.

Since the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada (uprising) in September 2000, Israel has regularly sealed off the West Bank ahead of major holidays.

MRS/HGH

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Israeli Forces Besiege Al-Aqsa Mosque 
Friday, March 12, 2010

Only a few thousands of worshipers on Friday managed to perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem because of Israeli security measures that prevented the arrival of many Muslims to the Mosque's various precincts.

Since the early hours of Friday morning, the Israeli occupying forces deployed large numbers of police units and border guards around the holy city, which saw a major chaos today.

The Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has imposed a full security blockade on the occupied West Bank and prevented its residents from entering Israel and Jerusalem.

According to local Palestinian radio stations "a few thousands of Palestinians from inside Israel had managed to enter the al-Aqsa Mosque during the night hours, following news about the intention of the occupation forces and Jewish extremists to storm it." The stations said Israeli police shut down most of the gates leading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which worshipers used to get to the court yards of the mosque.

They quoted eyewitnesses and worshippers as saying police opened "irregularly" three gates leading to the mosque other than those used by the worshipers while closing 10 gates, including those which used to be open around the clock.

And within the Old City, Israeli police deployed about a dozen blocks located in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and prevented men over the age of fifty from access to the city.

Source: KUNA

Tamimi: Israel working to build Third Temple
Monday 15/02/2010

Jerusalem – Ma'an – Supreme Judge Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi said Monday that Israeli institutions, settler groups and the government are working to fulfill 18th century Rabbi Vilna Goan's prophecy declaring that the Third Temple would be re-built by 16 March 2010.

He said archeological excavations have caused structural damage to the Al-Marwani Mosque, under the Al-Aqsa Mosque's northern walls, and to Palestinian homes in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The sheikh further alleged that a plan had been implemented in 1993 to intensify efforts to "Judaize" Jerusalem by establishing two major settlements around the city and a military brigade dedicated to closing off the city and separating it from its surrounding neighborhoods.

Tamimi said the plan included the shutting down of Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, the expulsion of dignitaries and the revoking of Israeli ID cards of Jerusalem residents in Beit Hanina, Shu'fat, El-Essawiya, At-Tour and Silwan.

Additionally, a network of tunnels would be constructed to connect settlers to the Old City, he claimed.

By the end of this process, some 36,000 Palestinians living in the Old City will be displaced, Tamimi said, calling on conveners of the Arab League Summit in Libya next month to create a plan to "save Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Excavations blamed for latest Silwan collapse

Jerusalem – Ma’an – The Wadi Hilwah Information Centre reported another collapse in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City, creating a 12 meter square hole in the middle of Wadi Hilwah street.

Jawad Siam, head of the information centre, said that the latest collapse in Wadi Hilwah took place over a 10 meter deep tunnel and is a few meters from the previous cave in at the beginning of January, as a result of Israeli excavations in the area.

A child was injured and a vehicle fell ithrough the site, Siam said, adding that the local Al-Ein mosque, where Israeli excavation has intensified, was flooded as rainwater seeped into the collapsed site.

The Al-Quds Centre for Economic and Social rights said that this incident follows a number of similar collapses in Silwan recently, pointing out that last year, a collapse occurred in a girls’ school, injuring 17 students.

On 2 January 2010 The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage reported another street collapse on the main road of Silwan.

"The collapse created a hole, two meters long and one and a half meters deep," according to a statement from the foundation, which oversees the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

According to the foundation, the collapse was related to ongoing excavations by Israeli authorities in the vicinity, apparently on tunnels extending underneath the neighborhood about 700 meters from the mosque compound. Authorities recently removed quantities of dirt and rocks from under Silwan to undisclosed locations, the statement said.
Source: http://www.maannews.net/

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Sheikh Tamimi warns of Al-Aqsa mosque collapsing

Jerusalem – Ma’an – Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, chief Islamic judge for the Palestinian Authority, warned that the Al-Aqsa Mosque suffers from cracks and fissures in the walls, a sign of its impending collapse, as a result of Israeli excavations below it, he said on Monday.

Sheikh Tamimi further warned that houses in the surround neighborhood are at risk resulting from the Israeli Antiquities Authority working a night and removing dozens of bags with stones from the excavation site south of the mosque.

He further spoke of the rise in extremist Jewish, as well as military intrusion into the compound, including the entry of 50 students from various departments of archeology in Israeli universities to undertake research and of settlers while women prayed, he said.

The Sheikh held the Israeli government responsible for the collapses and deterioration around the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surrounding environs and cautioned that Islamic and Christian sites are in jeopardy.

Sheikh Tamimi further called on Arabs and Muslims throughout the world to assist in halting the on-going Israeli excavations near the holy site.

His comments follow the another collapse in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, creating a 12 meter square hole in the middle of Wadi Hilwah street.

Source: http://www.maannews.net/eng/

JEWISH EXCAVATIONS TRIGGER LANDSLIDE IN JERUSALEM

GAZA, Jan 3 (NNN-KUNA): The ongoing Israeli excavations have led to a landslide in a main street in Salwan district, downtown Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Waqf and Heritage Foundation announced Saturday evening.

“The landslide, which is two meters long, one meter wide and one and a half meters deep, took place some 700 meters to the south of Al-Aqsa Mosque – the Muslims’ third holiest site,” said a statement issued by the foundation.

In an earlier statement the foundation cautioned that the network of tunnels, being dug by the Israeli authorities around and under Al-Aqsa Mosque under the pretext of archeological excavations, could topple the Mosque and the nearby homes.

“These activities have rendered most of the buildings in Salwan area unsafe and liable to collapse at any moment.

“They are part of the designs of the Israeli occupation authorities to force the local Palestinians to leave their homes for Jewish settlers as a prelude to judaizing the holy city,” according to the statement.

The foundation appealed to the Arab and Muslim nations to step in immediately to save the endangered Mosque.

-NNN-KUNA

 JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel stripped Palestinians of Jerusalem residency status last year at a faster rate than at any time in the history of the Jewish state, an Israeli rights group said on Wednesday, citing official Israeli statistics.

"Revocation of residence has reached frightening proportions," said Dalia Kerstein, executive director of Israel's HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual.

Statistics HaMoked obtained from the Ministry of Interior under a Freedom of Information Act request show 4,577 residents of East Jerusalem had their residence revoked in 2008, which was greater than half the total revoked in the past 40 years.

The United Nations, the United States and the European have criticized Israel's policies in Jerusalem, which include the eviction of Palestinians from homes whose ownership they cannot prove, demolition of housing built without Israeli permits, and expansion of settlements on land occupied since a 1967 war.

The Palestinians say Israel's aim is to get rid of as many Palestinian residents as possible from East Jerusalem, to reduce their presence in its eastern districts and undermine the claim to half of the Holy City as capital of their future state.

"The Interior Ministry campaign in 2008 is only part of a general policy whose aim is to limit the Palestinian population and preserve a Jewish majority in Jerusalem, whose future is supposed to be determined in negotiations," Kerstein said.

"The Palestinians are natives of this city, not residents who have recently arrived," she added in a HaMoked statement.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem after capturing the area in the 1967 Middle East war and regards all of the city as its capital, a claim not recognized internationally.

Some 250,000 Palestinians now live in East Jerusalem and adjacent suburbs alongside 200,000 Israelis. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects calls for the city to be divided or shared as part of a peace agreement.

EU REPORT CITED

The United Nations and Western powers, which do not recognize Israel's claim, say the status of the city is one of the core issues to be settled in peace negotiations, which have been suspended for the past year and show no sign of resuming soon.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Wednesday quoted an internal European Union document as saying Israel was helping Jewish right-wing zealots to implement its "strategic vision" of changing the demographics.

At the same time, the paper quoted the EU report as saying, the Israeli-run municipality was depriving Palestinians of needed building permits and providing them with inferior health, sanitation and educational services.

While 35 percent of Jerusalem citizens are Arab, less than 10 percent of the city's budget goes to Arab areas, the EU internal report said.

[...] HaMoked said the Israeli Interior Ministry had provided statistics for all of the years from 1967 to 2008 apart from 2002 for which it said no figures were available.

They show that 8,269 Palestinians had their Jerusalem residence revoked over the 40-year-period. The previous high was in 2006, when 1,363 Palestinians were stripped of Jerusalem resident status. No figures were available for the current year. http://bit.ly/6cX6qa

Ateret Cohanim also known as Ateret Yerushalyim, is a Religious Zionist yeshiva (Rabbinical School) located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The organization is dedicated to helping Israeli Jews return to live in East Jerusalem and particularly to live in the Muslim quarters in the Old City so as to "Judaize" that area.

Who is Irving Moskowitz? A retired doctor of internal medicine who strongly supports Jewish organizations seeking to strengthen Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem. He has given at least $2.5 million to American Friends of Ateret Cohanim, a group dedicated to rebuilding the destroyed temple, where (Al Aqsa) stands today.

Moskowitz is credited with pressing Netanyahu into opening the tunnel alongside the Temple Mount in Jerusalem last year (1996). The move led to days of Palestinian rioting and the deaths of more than 70 people, including 15 Israelis. A plaque with his name hangs in the tunnel. http://bit.ly/OmX1C

The Israel Lands Administration (ILA) is working together with the Ateret Cohanim association to wrest from Palestinian landowners control of 30 dunams (7.5 acres) of land in East Jerusalem and to transfer it to the association without a tender. Such is the claim outlined in a petition submitted two weeks ago to the High Court of Justice, and appearing in documents which Haaretz has received. http://bit.ly/3Ewujh