Jewish Extremists Tear Up Qur’an Copies In Ibrahimi Mosque

The extremists exploited the Israeli closedown of the holy Islamic site on Monday, August 16, in front of Muslim worshippers, allowing only Jews in to carry out alleged religious celebrations.

Copies of the Islamic holy book were torn apart and thrown under their feet, an act extremely infuriating and insulting to all Muslims, according to Al-Quds Press news agency.

"This is a part of horrendous transgressions on the sanctity of the site Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi in a bid to turn it into a synagogue – a key demand by Jewish extremists and settlers," said Sheikh Rajab Al-Tamimi, the Haram preacher.

Tamimi, who doubles as the chief judge of Palestinian territories, also referred to Israeli measures to destroy archaeological houses in Al-Khalil. "This is an attack on human heritage."

Al-Khalil commemorates on February 25 every year the anniversary of the massacre at Al-Haram, where a Jewish terrorist rained worshippers with bullets, killing at least 50 Palestinians and wounding about 200 others.

Less than 400 Jews settlers had moved to settlement outposts in the Old City of Al-Khalil, where more than 130,000 Palestinians live.

Defiant

Tamimi appealed to the United Nations and religious scholars in the world to pressure Israeli occupation forces "to end their unlimited support for Jewish extremists’ policies, and their aggressions on Islamic and Christian sites in Palestine".

But he also called on the inhabitants of Al-Khalil to act in defiance to Israeli measures on Al-Haram.

"You should keep efforts to pray there, and defend the place with all possible means."

Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out on September 28, 2000, in the wake of a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque – Islam’s third holiest site – by the then opposition leader Ariel Sharon.

A number of plots against the holy mosque of Al-Aqsa in occupied Jerusalem had been earlier unveiled as the extremist Temple Mount Faithful group seeks every year to get a permission to symbolically place a foundation stone for a new Solomon Temple at the holy site.

Israeli occupation forces had been also reportedly digging under the holy Islamic compound in search for Solomon Temple which Jews claim had been demolished by the Babylonians in 586 BC and should be built again.

In January, a Palestinian organization said Israel is planning to dig a new tunnel under Al-Aqsa mosque with eight million dollars donated by a Jewish American millionaire.

The tunnel is designed to tighten the grip of the Israeli occupation forces on the sacred compound, protect Jews who visit it and Judaize the Old City, Al-Aqsa Foundation for Reconstruction had said at the time.

Some 65 Palestinians and 15 Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes which flared up after the inauguration of the first tunnel in 1996.