A suggestion by an Israeli member of parliament to further divide Masjid Al Aqsa, in favour of extremist Jews, has sparked fury among Palestinians. Some have warned it could prompt a war to break out, or at least widespread outrage across the Muslim world.
Amit Halevi, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, told an Israeli newspaper the holy site could be split in a similar manner as the apartheid government had done to the Ibrahimi Mosque.
He said 30% of Islam’s third holiest site should be allotted to Muslims, while the remaining 70% – including the Dome of the Rock – would be reserved for Jews.
In an interview on Salaamedia, Jerusalem-based archaeologist and historian Dr Abeer Zayyad warned the implications of such a move would be dire.
“They do not understand the mentality of the people and how important Al Aqsa Mosque is for all Muslims. None of us will accept taking any inch from the mosque. This is not only for Palestinian Muslims; we are speaking about Muslims in the whole world that will not accept that at all. This will cause a huge problem in the whole world.”
SMread: Is the Saudi regime exploiting Hajj and Umrah?
Division of Al Aqsa
Palestinians have long feared a drastic move by Israel that could shut them out of the mosque completely. Israel has used plans to divide the mosque as an excuse to further its occupation of Jerusalem.
“The excuse they’re using for this new plan is that Al Aqsa Mosque is just the Qibli Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, other buildings, are not part of Al Aqsa,” explained Zayyad.
Describing the plan as “stupid” and with potential to cause “big problems”, she said it could create war. “It could cause a big war in the whole region, not only inside Jerusalem or Palestine. It’s far from all the plans before.
“It will be taking the whole region to a new situation. I think even Muslim countries, if they did not do anything, their leaders are going to be gone. Muslims in the whole world trust that they will not shut up if something like that happened to Al Aqsa Mosque.”
Israeli raids into the compound have been on the increase in recent years. Settlers frequently storm the site, while Palestinian access becomes more restricted.
