Israeli MK proposes plan to divide Al-Aqsa between Muslims and Jews
Occupied Jerusalem (QNN)- An Israeli lawmaker has suggested a plan to divide Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews and to remove Jordan’s authority and control over the holy site.
Speaking to the Zeman Israel Hebrew news site on Wednesday, Knesset member from the Likud party Amit Halevi outlined a plan whereby Muslims would control the southern end of the 37-acre site which contains the Al-Aqsa mosque, while Jews would receive the central and northern area, where the Dome of the Rock is located.
“If they pray there, it does not make the entire Temple Mount a holy place for Muslims. It wasn’t and it won’t be,” Halevi said.
“We will take the northern end and pray there. The entire mountain is sacred to us, and the Dome of the Rock is the place on which the Temple stood. This should be our guideline. Israel is leading. It will be a historical, religious and national statement. If this does not happen then you are not actually the owner of the house. You are a klutz. Why are you even going in there?”
“This is the place of the First Temple and the place of the Second Temple built by Babylonian immigrants. No one needs to examine the stones to know that it is ours,” Halevi claimed.
The Israeli lawmaker has also suggested that Jordan’s authority and control over Al-Aqsa be removed.
“Why not give them status in the Dizengoff Center [a large shopping mall in Tel Aviv] as well? This is a terrible mistake. This status should be abolished. I know it’s an agreement between countries, but we have to deal with it. It requires change, even if the process will take time,” he said.
The Hashemite royal family of Jordan are custodians of both the Muslim and Christian holy sites in the city of Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa, and dates back to an agreement made during the British mandate of Palestine.
Moreover, the Israeli lawmaker has also suggested to change the access procedures for Jews breaking into Al-Aqsa, demanding that Jews be allowed to enter the holy site through all the other gates, rather than only through the southwestern Moroccan Gate, the only gate out of the mosque’s 15 entry points under the full control of Israeli occupation authorities which no Palestinians can access.
“There are mosques in the south of the mountain and we respect that. Pray there and give us our share,” Halevi said.
Israeli occupation authorities have allowed settler incursions to the mosque since 2003, while being backed by well-armed Israeli forces.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of Israeli incursions into Al-Aqsa. Dozens of people join the incursions, with the number rising to hundreds on Jewish holidays, such as Passover, Purim, Jerusalem Day, and others.
In 2021, 34,562 settlers broke into the holy site, setting a new record, as in 2020, 19,000 settlers broke into the mosque, and 29,700 settlers in 2019, according to Al-Qastal, a Palestinian network hub for Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem.
There have been repeated objections and warnings by the Palestinian religious authorities as the settlers’ incursions provoke Palestinian worshipers of the mosque. Palestinians also say the incursions are an attempt by ultra-nationalists to claim religious ownership of the holy site and remove Palestinian culture and religion from Al-Aqsa.
Israeli forces always facilitate and protect the settlers while preventing Palestinian worshipers from entering it, assaulting and detaining them.
The Al-Aqsa mosque is one of the holiest sites in Islam. Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times. The complex also includes the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the most sacred Christian sites in the world.
