Yesterday, Monday, the Eye on Jerusalem program, shown by Jordanian TV, monitored the efforts of the Israeli occupation authorities to close the Gate of Mercy chapel, and highlighted the occupation authorities’ obstruction of the reconstruction and restoration projects of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to the program’s weekly report, the occupation police submitted a request to the Magistrate’s Court in Jerusalem to extend the decision to close Bab al-Rahma chapel in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, claiming that it is a site for “incitement and subversive activities.” The occupation police also informed the director of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Reconstruction Committee, Eng. Taha Aweidah, to stop all work carried out by the committee, threatening anyone who carries out reconstruction or maintenance work in the Holy Mosque of Al-Sharif with arrest.

The report indicated that the occupation police, a few days ago, forcibly removed the seclusion from the courtyards of the mosque, including the mosque guards affiliated with the Awqaf Department and workers in the firefighting, early warning and electricity stations.

The Director General of the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem, Sheikh Muhammad Azzam al-Khatib, said that the Israeli police informed the Endowments on the day of Eid that there was a case with the Magistrates Court, and demanded that the Heritage Committee respond to the court summons. He expressed his surprise at the goals that the occupation seeks to target this place.
He added that the people of Jerusalem had previously taken a serious and firm stand against the decision to close this site, indicating that they would not allow it again, and that Israel is well aware of the sensitivity of matters related to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He emphasized that the Awqaf Directorate cannot recognize or endorse any Israeli law on Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that the Gate of Mercy is an integral part of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Islamic Awqaf and all Muslims of the world cannot abandon it.

In turn, an expert on Al-Aqsa reconstruction projects and a member of the Jerusalem Endowments Council, Eng. Bassam Al-Hallaq, said in a video call from Jerusalem that the projects carried out by the Al-Aqsa Mosque Reconstruction Committee of the Jerusalem Endowments Directorate are many, and all of these projects were carried out at the private expense of His Majesty King Abdullah and before at the expense of The late King Hussein bin Talal, may God have mercy on him.
He pointed out that the most important of these projects was in 1984, which was changing the top of the dome of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which consisted of aluminum sheets, which were replaced with lead sheets, and after that all the roofs of the mosque were covered with lead and the inside with decorative wooden panels, after it was damaged. by fire. The mosaic of Surat Al-Isra, which is located inside Al-Qibli Mosque, has also been restored, with a length of 23 meters. The pulpit of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi was brought to Al-Aqsa Mosque after it was manufactured at Al-Balqa Applied University and placed in the place of the pulpit that was burned in 1969.

With regard to the honorable Dome of the Rock, al-Hallaq explained that the aluminum panels were replaced with completely gilded copper panels to save them from “copper rancidity,” and all the corridors were covered with lead. The dome was also restored from the inside with plaster decorations. And restoring the mosaics inside, a project that took more than 8 years.
He pointed out that the occupation authorities prevented many reconstruction and restoration projects in the mosque, and also prevented the development of the firefighting network in the mosque, and the lighting of the Dome of the Rock from the outside and from the inside.

Hallaq stressed that the closure of Bab al-Rahma chapel is one of the biggest violations committed by the occupation authorities against Al-Aqsa Mosque, because the occupation is thinking deeply about controlling it and turning it into a synagogue.

He expressed regret for the Islamic world’s lack of interest in what is happening in Al-Aqsa Mosque, noting that Jordan is the only country that supports the holy people and stands by them in defending Al-Aqsa Mosque.

-(Petra)