OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)The Jerusalem Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has warned against Israeli attempts to use tourism as a cover to impose control over the Aqsa Mosque, stressing that such actions are part of a systematic effort to undermine the official Islamic role in managing the holy site.
“The closure of the Aqsa Mosque’s Maghariba (Moroccan) Gate by the occupation authorities following the entry of 72 settlers and around 450 foreign tourists … signals an intent to impose Israeli administrative control over the Mosque, flagrantly violating its historical and legal status quo,” the Jerusalem Affairs Department said in a statement on Monday.
“Permitting tourists to enter under Israeli police supervision is not a routine tourism practice, but rather a calculated political tactic aimed at solidifying the occupation’s presence and imposing temporal and spatial divisions within the Mosque, egregiously in violation of its Islamic custodianship,” the Department added.
The Department warned that such an Israeli scheme against the Aqsa Mosque “risks inflaming tensions in Jerusalem and its surrounding areas, particularly amid growing assaults on Awqaf guards and Muslim worshipers.”
The Department called on the international community, especially UNESCO, to protect the Aqsa Mosque’s religious and humanitarian identity and prevent the use of tourism as a political tool to change its historical and legal status quo.
“The Aqsa Mosque is a national and religious symbol for the Arab and Muslim nations, so any violation of its sanctity or attempt to impose Israeli administrative control over it constitute a direct threat to regional stability and a clear violation of international law and UN resolutions,” the Administration underlined.
