Dozens of Palestinian religious leaders, including Muslims and Christians, signed a documenting denying the holiness of the Temple Mount to the Jewish People and calling it a “desecration” for Jews to enter the site.
Palestinian religious leaders signed a declaration stating it is “desecration” for Jews to pray at Judaism’s holiest site. The “Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque Document” objects to Jews entering the Temple Mount, as well as to archaeological excavations at the site.
The declaration was an initiative of former Jerusalem Grand Mufti Ekrima Sa’id Sabri, who is well-known for his anti-Semitism.
According to a report by The Jerusalem Post, Sabri told reporters at the signing that the entire Temple Mount is “purely and exclusively sacred to Muslims.” He said that for Jews to enter the site “would be a grave assault and desecration against al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Sabri has previously accused the Jews of trying to destroy al-Aqsa. In a 1999 interview, he said, “If the Jews want peace, they will stay away from Al Aksa. This is a decree from God. The Haram al-Sharif belongs to the Muslim. But we know the Jew is planning on destroying the Haram. The Jew will get the Christian to do his work for him. This is the way of the Jews. This is the way Satan manifests himself. The majority of the Jews want to destroy the mosque. They are preparing this as we speak.”
He also described the Holocaust as a “fairytale” in a 2000 interview, and accused the Jews of masterminding the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri based on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion on Saudi TV in 2005.
The Jerusalem Magistrate court rule in March that Israeli police must allow Jews to have equal access to pray on the Temple Mount, despite the fact that this often results in Muslim riots. The latest mass violence occurred on Tisha b’Av, the Jewish day of mourning over the destruction of the two Holy Temples, when Muslims pelted Jewish worshippers with rocks, firebombs, and assorted objects.
By: Sara Abramowicz, United with Israel
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