The Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council accused Israel of working to “undermine the foundations” of al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount.
The accusation on Thursday was the latest of many Palestinian claims that Israel has devised a plan to destroy al-Aqsa in order to rebuild the Third Temple.
The new charge comes as Palestinians are set to mark the anniversary of the burning of the pulpit of al-Aqsa on August 21, 1969, by Christian Australian citizen Denis Rohan.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions have urged Palestinians to mark the anniversary by heading to al-Aqsa to “defend” it against Israeli “attacks.” Other groups have called for protests in Jerusalem and the West Bank for the occasion.
Established in 1994 by then Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat, the council is headed by the mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, and includes in its membership several scholars and Islamic clerics.
The council warned of the “danger of the excavations” carried out by Israel southwest of al-Aqsa Mosque, specifically the Western Wall Plaza and the Mughrabi Gate.
According to the council, the work aims to build a 159-meter-long tunnel linking the Jewish Quarter with the Mughrabi Gate, “which is used by the occupation forces and settlers in their incursions” onto the Temple Mount.The “incursions” refer to routine visits by Jews to the Temple Mount.
The council said that the Israeli “assaults” near the Temple Mount “come within the framework of the continuous violations against Palestinian sanctuaries and archaeological and historical monuments, and are aimed at changing the features of the holy city and obliterating its Arab and Islamic past.”
The council denounced the renovation work at the Western Wall and the Mughrabi Gate as “one of the most dangerous Israeli projects that undermine the foundations of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The council also renewed a ban on selling real estate to Jews in Jerusalem “or any other Palestinian land.”
The council ruled that engagement in such real estate deals is “a great betrayal of religion, the homeland and morals. Whoever colludes with this crime is a conspirator against the land, the cause and the people, and has sold himself to the devil.”
The Islamic council also accused Israel of working to “Judaize” the Ibrahimi Mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs) in Hebron by building an elevator for the disabled.
The council claimed that the elevator project aims to “facilitate the settlers’ storming of the Ibrahimi Mosque, which means the seizure of nearly 300 square meters of the mosque’s courtyards and facilities.”
The project, the council argued, constitutes “a new blatant attack on the ownership of the Ibrahimi Mosque, which belongs exclusively to the Muslims. It is also a clear violation of international agreements that guarantee the protection of holy places and freedom of worship, and this will lead to the escalation of more tension in the region. Such malicious schemes will not change the inalienable right of Muslims to their mosques.”