JORDAN CALLS FOR ACTION AGAINST ISRAELI AGGRESSIONS AT JERUSALEM HOLY SITE

        Al-Quds (Jerusalem), 8 Muharram 1435/ 12 November 2013 (MINA) –  Jordan Government  on Sunday voiced its rejection of Israeli occupation  “renovation” works at the Western Wall of Al Aqsa Mosque in the Holy City of Jerusalem, reported the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

        Earlier this week, Israeli occupation’s archaeology department workers started “renovation” works at a part of the Western Wall that is adjacent to the Islamic waqf known as “Hosh Al Shahabi” or Ribat Al Kurd, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces.

        This step was taken despite Jordan’s objections which were put in writing more than once, against all forms of Israeli occupation intervention at the site that are considered a violation of the sanctity of Al Aqsa Mosque and a breach of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty as Jerusalem is part of the occupied lands under the international law.

        Israel occupation continued to carry on with such works despite resistance from the Islamic Awqaf Department in Jerusalem and from the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, the agency said, Alray, Palestinian Media Agency quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

         Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani was quoted as saying that the renovation of the wall and the floor at Hosh Al Shahabi, which is an Islamic waqf (religious endowment), is the responsibility of the Islamic Awqaf Department and not the occupation authorities.

        The Israeli occupation authorities prevent the Islamic awqaf from carrying out the needed renovations of the Islamic holy site, Momani noted.

         The minister called on the international community, world entities, the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to intervene and prevent the occupation authorities from pursuing their “acts of aggression against holy Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem”.

          Jerusalem is inscribed on the World Heritage List, upon a proposal by Jordan in 1981, and on the List of World Heritage in Danger (1982), and the occupying authorities are not entitled to change the status quo at the site.

         The Western Wall is part of Al Aqsa Mosque, which is the third holiest site in Islam. (T/P02/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)