OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Board of Trustees of the Al-Aqsa Mosque has warned of a dangerous and unprecedented escalation in Israeli excavation work around the Mosque, saying it is one of the main tools used to Judaize Jerusalem, erase its Arab and Islamic identity and falsify its historical narrative.
Fakhri Abu Diab, a researcher and member of the board, said the excavations are part of a systematic plan to isolate the Al-Aqsa Mosque and reduce the powers of the Jordanian-run Islamic Waqf, amid escalating policies of forced displacement and home demolitions in surrounding Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Abu Diab said Israeli authorities had recently intensified excavation work, particularly in the Umayyad Palaces area and the immediate surroundings of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He said the work has been accompanied by the construction of underground halls and facilities used to promote misleading narratives and reinforce claims of a Jewish civilization at the site, in an attempt to impose new facts and alter the city’s features above and below ground.
He warned that the excavations coincide with ongoing Israeli efforts to replace the Islamic Waqf with Israeli occupation forces and extremist Temple groups in managing the affairs of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
This, he said, is reflected in the installation of advanced surveillance systems and smart cameras directly linked to Israeli police, with the aim of tightening control over worshipers and restricting their movement.
Abu Diab stressed that Israel’s plans do not only target the underground area, but also Palestinians in Jerusalem, who form the first line of defense for the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He cited the rising number of home demolitions and forced displacement in Al-Bustan, Batan Al-Hawa and Sheikh Jarrah, alongside accelerated settlement projects around the Old City and in Qalandiya and Atarot, aimed at changing the city’s demographic and cultural character in favor of settlers.
Abu Diab attributed the acceleration of these plans to Israel’s exploitation of regional and international preoccupation with current events, amid the absence of any international deterrence or legal accountability.
He said the current Israeli government, ahead of upcoming elections, is seeking to appease the far right and Temple groups by making gains on the ground in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as compensation for political and military failures on other fronts.
He warned that the coming period could witness more dangerous steps to impose a permanent Judaization reality.
Abu Diab said Israeli excavations have been concentrated beneath the Old City and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque since 1967, under the supervision of the Israel Antiquities Authority and extremist settler organizations, most notably Elad.
He added that the excavations are publicly justified as searches for historical evidence to support the Zionist narrative, including claims related to “Solomon’s Temple,” but are in practice used to turn underground areas into Talmudic synagogues and tourist facilities linking settlements to the Old City.
Engineers have repeatedly warned of the impact of these excavations on the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and surrounding historic buildings.
Israeli excavation work has continued around the Al-Aqsa Mosque and beneath the Old City in occupied Jerusalem since 1967, prompting repeated Palestinian and Jordanian warnings over the danger posed to the Mosque’s foundations and nearby historic structures.
Jerusalem sources say Israeli authorities have intensified excavation and tunnel projects in recent months, alongside expanded settler incursions and measures aimed at imposing new realities in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque as part of efforts to alter the historical and religious character of the holy city.
