Flower of the Cities

The Festival of Light “Hanukkah”: Zionists’ Efforts towards Taking-over Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Jews celebrate the Festival of Lights in commemoration of the rebuilding of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (their so-called Second Temple) in 164 BC, when the Greeks took control of Jerusalem and persecuted the Jews under the leadership of Judah Maccabee and his brothers. On Hanukkah, the Maccabean Jews regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the “Temple”.

Hanukkah in Hebrew means inauguration, as they celebrate the construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and is observed for eight nights and days. Therefore, candles are lit in the menorah (candelabrum with nine branches) placed next to doors or windows, and a new candle is added every night of the festival. This holiday is not considered an official holiday for Jews, as the daily business continue.

The Temple Forum in the ruling Likud party demands that Netanyahu allow the menorah during Hanukkah to be lit inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In the context of the relentless pursuit of the temple groups and the Zionist government to establish the Jewish temple in Al-Aqsa, both ritually and morally, and transferring all the Jewish sacrificial rituals to the inside of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the “Temple Forum” group in the ruling Likud Party sent a letter to the party leader and the Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requesting the empowerment of the Jews From performing the climax of the festival of lights rituals by lighting the candlestick of lights inside the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, considering that “it is not appropriate for the Jews to continue to celebrate the Festival of Lights outside the Temple Mount despite the passage of two thousand years since the diaspora, and despite the presence of the Temple Mount under Jewish sovereignty.”

It is noteworthy that there is no Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish archaeologist, Meir Ben-Dov, admitted and said: “There are no traces of the so-called alleged temple under the Al-Aqsa Mosque”.

The Likud Temple Forum forms a gathering of extremists within the party to cooperate and put pressure on the Zionist government to improve the conditions for incursions and enable the Zionists to have greater control over Al-Aqsa Mosque. The forum started its message to Netanyahu by “thanks for improving conditions” for the incursions into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque over the past months and years. .

The extremist temple groups have erected the Hanukkah menorah this year directly adjacent to the Lions Gate, and had begun erecting it in Al-Ghazali Square in front of the Lion’s Gate with the intention of escalating their demand to celebrate the Hebrew Hanukkah holiday inside Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Temple groups open messages to the Emirates and Bahrain via video to help them establish joint prayers for Jews and Muslims in Al-Aqsa, and to help them evade the administration of Islamic endowments, and at a time when the Hanukkah menorahwas erected in Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and clips of Arab Zionists participating in the Zionist celebrated the Hebrew Light Festival In occupied Palestine.

The Segregation Wall

A wall surrounding Jerusalem on three sides: the north, south and east; and completely isolates the city from the West Bank.

The main objective of building the wall:
The Israeli Occupation occupied western Jerusalem in 1948, and the eastern part of the city in 1967. The settlements in the West Bank form a Jewish belt around Jerusalem. In addition, the wall excludes the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, that is, the densely populated Palestinian areas. Excluding Arab neighborhoods from Jerusalem and including Jewish settlements are factors that contribute to the establishment of a Jewish capital.

The wall runs in a zig-zag pattern to create a large area as follows:
Jerusalem, with its municipal borders, expanded by the occupation in 1967.
It includes the largest settlement blocs located in the West Bank, and includes the “Gush Etzion”, “Ma’ale Adumim” and “Gafaf Zeev” communities.
It will exclude Arab neighborhoods located within the municipal boundaries to become outside the wall.

How much did it cost?

The cost of constructing one kilometer of the wall: $ 2 million
The total length of the wall that surrounds the West Bank: 712 km
Length of the section that surrounds Jerusalem: 142 km
Wall height: 4-8 meters

How can Jerusalemites and citizens of the West Bank cross the wall?
Jerusalemites detained outside the wall must obtain permits to be able to cross the gates to access the health system inside Jerusalem.
The occupation is tightening the procedures for obtaining permits for West Bank patients to receive treatment in Jerusalem hospitals.
The isolation of Jerusalem from the West Bank has resulted in fiscal deficits and worsening difficulties in managing medical institutions in East Jerusalem.

How did the wall affect the economy and education?

The wall constitutes a final blow on the economy of the city of Jerusalem by isolating it from its surroundings
The wall exits between 80 and 120 thousand Palestinians with Jerusalem IDs who live within the borders of the occupation municipality and outside the wall, such as Kafr Aqab, Samir Amis, Qalandia, Shuafat Camp and Ras Khamis.
About 20% of students in Waqf schools in East Jerusalem and 20% of teachers detained behind the wall have to cross a checkpoint on a daily basis to reach their schools in East Jerusalem.

International laws related to the wall:

1- The Hague Agreement of 1907
Article 52 of the “Hague Convention of 1907” considers that annexing occupied lands to the territories of the occupying power is forbidden and violates international norms and conventions, and the Hague Convention is considered part of the international custom.
2- 21-10-2003
The wall is a violation of all international conventions and norms, especially the United Nations resolution issued on 10/21/2003, which clearly calls for stopping its construction.
3- 9-7-2004
The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on 7/7/2004, considering the wall to be contrary to international law. The decision included a call to stop building the wall, demolish what has been built, and compensate those affected.

Morocco Gate

The last doors of Al-Aqsa mosque from the western side. It was named after the Mugrabi Mosque, which is located to the south of the mosque and from the Al-Mughrabi Quarter (Moroccan Quarter) that used to lead to it, as it was removed by the Israeli occupation forces in 1967 and turned into a yard for Jews to pray and where their “Wailing Wall” is located. It is the closest open door to the Al-Qibli mosque, a building that is a part of Al-Aqsa mosque located in its Southern area.

This door with an arched entrance was built after the foundation of the Moroccan Quarter with the Salahi Liberation. It was reported that the Moroccan Muslims were known for their great strength in their jihad with Saladin Al-Ayouby, so he settled them on the western side of the mosque in order to re-Islamize the city, and then his son Al-Afdal Ali established a school known as the Al-Fadhila School, but is now demolished with the quarter.

The Israeli occupation authorities seized the key to this gate and prevented Muslims from entering through it, while it is open to foreign tourists, Jewish settlers and the occupation police for their storming of the mosque and their attack on the Almoravids. Outside the Moroccan Gate, the occupation authorities demolished the Moroccan hill in 2012 in preparation for the establishment of a cement or iron bridge that facilitates Israeli incursions, and to facilitate the entry of attempts to implement plans to demolish the mosque and build the Temple in place of Al-Aqsa Mosque, God forbid.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The church was built by Queen Helena, mother of King Constantine, and is located in the Christian Quarter in the northwestern part of the Old City.

It was founded in the location where, as Christians believe, the cross on which Jesus (peace be upon him) was crucified, was located, and it is considered one of the churches in which all Christian denominations and groups participate. Throughout the Islamic period, ties and privileges were organized and structured and were governed by three major sects: the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholic and Armenians.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre from the inside

The area of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is estimated at (60 x 80) meters square, and it consists of: The Church of Calvary or the Calvary, as Christians believe, built on the place of the crucifixion of Jesus (peace be upon him) and it is located at the corner of the southeastern Church of the Holy Sepulcher and contains beautiful decorations, mosaics, pictures, icons, and the ground covered with marble, and topped by two domes, one of them is a large dome above the Holy Sepulcher and the other is smaller and is called the Dome of the Half-Dunya Church.

Christians believe that it also contains 7 graves of the most prominent Frankish clergymen and a number of Crusader kings, such as Joseph of Arimathea and his family, and their graves are located in a temple to the west of the Holy Sepulcher, and also there are two graves for Godfrey and Baldwin, who are the kings of the Franks, and there is an unidentified grave, so it is unknown who is its owner and in front of the church there is a tomb of a leader A crusader “Philip Dwaiti” and another grave at the Church of Saint Jacob, and there are many unknown graves in this place, because the land was originally a cemetery, and there were five graves dug into the upper wall of the church, which are of ancient patriarchs, and the church also contains 13 wells to collect rainwater.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre from the outside

As for the building of the church’s dome, it is made of iron and has two arches in one center. The ribs of the dome are connected to iron pillars, and at the top of the dome’s opening there is a glass curtain, and the dome from the outside is covered with lead, and from the inside it is lined with painted plate.

The church also contains a Christian chapel in the form of a hexagon, 26 feet in length and 17.7 feet in width, and in the eastern corridor of the chapel there is another chapel called the Chapel of the Angels in which 15 lamps are lit, and it is divided between the Orthodox and the Latins (5), the Armenians (4) and the Copts (1) There is a stone covered with marble in the center of the prayer hall.

This church is a testimony to the Arab-Islamic tolerance that befell it, and it also bears witness to the restorations that took place there, as the Persians burned the church in 614 AD and rebuilt by the monk Modestus, head of the Abbayid Monastery. Many travelers mentioned and described the church during their trips and visits to the city of Jerusalem and the Old City.

Upon the conquest of Jerusalem in the year 636 AD, Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, gave the Christians safety over themselves and their churches, and did not harm them.

Umar ibn al-Khattab did not accept to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher when the Patriarch Sophronius offered him to pray in it, instead he prayed close to it for fear that Muslims would take the church after that on the pretext that it is an Islamic right, and they would prove that by his prayer there. Years later, a mosque was built where he prayed, and is still there until today.

The Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock represents the most important Islamic architectural landmark in the world, which has a great religious status and sanctity in the hearts of Muslims and many people, and is the oldest and most beautiful example of Islamic architecture. Muslims have shown special interest towards it throughout the long Islamic history, especially after the natural disasters that used to affect greatly the Al-Aqsa Mosque, such as earthquakes, storms, rain, etc., as no Muslim caliph or sultan was late in restoring, preserving and defending it.

The Dome of the Rock lies in the heart of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. It was built in 691 AD during the Umayyad period, during the reign of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. Its construction was supervised by the engineers Raja bin Hayyah and Yazid bin Salam.

It was called so because it is located above the honorable rock, which Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) has ascended to heaven starting by standing on it in the miracle of the night of Isra and Mi’raj.

The Dome of the Rock contains 14 mihrabs, the main one of which is located in the direction of the qibla, and it contains 52 windows and a large number of black marble tiles, estimated at 99 tiles, and it contains 24 decorative arches covered with mosaics and these arches work to connect the columns with each other.

The Dome has been affected by all the historical periods since its construction and every period that has passed since it has caused many issues of restoration, repair, modification, and sabotage as well, during the Crusader and Israeli occupation it was the worst two periods, while in the Islamic periods the most prosperous periods were the ones that transformed it and made it take its current form.

Currently, the covered area surrounding the Supervising Rock represents a chapel dedicated to women (especially for Friday prayers, holidays and Taraweeh).

The Zionists show a special importance for the honorable rock, as they seek to establish their alleged temple in the place of the rock, and their attacks on it have multiplied in various ways, from bombing their planes during the 1948 aggression, and desecrating the honorable rock by raising their flag over it for some time and many attacks that negatively affect the Dome of the Rock. During the eighties of the twentieth century, several attempts were made to blow it up with explosives that were highly destructive by Jewish extremists, and a Jewish soldier named (Harry Goldman) stormed it in 1982 and opened fire on the worshipers indiscriminately, causing the death of two and wounding four of the worshipers. In addition, the Zionist excavations and tunnels are continuing around and below Al-Aqsa, and some of them reached under the Dome of the Rock, and it is even believed that they built Jewish churches in it.

These serious attacks have greatly affected the Dome of the Rock, as the marble that surrounds the dome from the inside, and its mosaic decorations from the inside and outside suffer from cracking, erosion and falling off. This situation is threatened with an increase due to the siege imposed by the Zionist occupation authorities on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the prevention of Muslims from carrying out any restoration work for any of its parts, including the Dome of the Rock.

Twenty Years on the Second Al-Aqsa Uprising “Intifada”

Thursday afternoon, September 28, 2000 witnessed confrontations between worshipers and angry youths, and the Israeli occupation police, border guards and special forces, who stormed the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to secure its desecration by the leader of the extremist Likud Party Ariel Sharon, and a number of his right-wing members … Those hours were the first spark of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

Ariel Sharon storming the mosque with Israeli forces protection

In the events of the first day, 20 young men were wounded, and the second day, Friday, September 29, witnessed more violent confrontations after the end of the noon prayer, which resulted in the death of 6 young men and the wounding of 300 people.
The third day, Saturday, September 30, a general strike took place and a general mourning took place, and the confrontation expanded to include all Palestinian cities, villages and camps, which resulted in the death of 13 civilians and the injury of 623, among them Muhammad Jamal Al-Durra, who was besieged by the fire of the occupation forces and He is in his father’s hands and in front of the cameras.

Palestinian Intifada against Israeli occupation in Jerusalem

Some of the major icons of 2000 Al-Aqsa Intifada:

Muhammad Al-Durra:

The world watched how an 11-year-old boy was executed by an Israeli sniper, in a video tape taken by a French TV correspondent on September 30, 2000.

Iman Hejjo:

A 4-month-old girl was killed by an Israeli bullet while she was in her mother’s arms in front of her family’s house in Khan Yunis. Monday, May 7, 2001.

Fares Awdi:

A Palestinian child was shot dead by the occupation forces near the Karni checkpoint in Gaza, while he was throwing stones during the confrontations.

Continuous preparations for the so-called “memorial of the temple ruin”

Today, Wednesday, the beginning of the mourning days that culminate in what is called “memorial of the temple ruin”.
On these days, the extremist temple groups prepare for crowds with all their strength to storm the main and most important of the year in the so-called “temple ruin” on the ninth of August of the Jewish calendar, which this year comes on the day of Arafa, one of the most important day of Muslim pilgrimage.

The Temple Mount Institute, associated with militant temple parties, declared in anticipation for this day that it would declare “surprises for its adherents” on the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and groundbreaking Judaic services interspersed with prayer and lectures in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, beginning from 22-7 to 30-7 Arafa day.

Yehuda Glick turns the Day of Arafa storm into a season to fund the storming.

Former Knesset member Rabbi of the Temple Mount Yehuda Glick announced his intention to organize two incursions during what is known as the memorial of the ruined Temple, which coincides with the day of Arafat, and that he will be a guide during these intrusions in the morning and evening period from Thursday. There is money to support his self-sponsored institution and his donations, which he calls the “Jerusalem Peace Foundation,” which is concerned with promoting the agenda of dividing and judaizing Al-Aqsa and organizing incursions into English speakers.

This same occasion had taken place on Eid al-Adha last year, during which Al-Aqsa witnessed major confrontations.

The “Deal of the Century” Efforts to Reshape the “Status Quo” in Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Deal of the Century was an effort to propose a plan for peace in the middle east, especially for Palestine and Israel. However, it has horrible consequences that involves Jerusalem.

The U.S president and the Israeli Occupation prime minister at the revelation of the Deal of the Century

The “Status Quo” concept:

The “status quo” is the current state of things. It is a return to a pre-conflict point, that is, how things were being administered before the war and for the matter to remain as it was then.

The status quo of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque is to preserve its administration as an Islamic sanctuary in the hands of an Islamic endowments as it was before 4 June 1967 entirely without prejudice to the rights of its administration, reconstruction, maintenance, entry to it, rhetoric on his pulpit. It also means that the Israeli occupation does not have the authority over this place to decide its fate and that it is responsible for preserving what was the case before 1967.

From the point of view of the Ministry of Islamic Endowments, which represents Jordan, to return to what it was from the Ottoman era until the occupation in 1967, Jordan grants guardianship of the holy sites. Despite all, the status quo for the Israeli the occupation is: the continuation of all its new governance approaches, the continued storming of settlers and the police, and the imposition of restrictions on Muslim worshipers.

The deal of the century and the concept of the status quo:

“The Deal of the Century” maintains the name of the term but redefines it again, changes the status quo without saying it will change it.

Speaking of Jerusalem, the Deal of the Century states that Israel was a good sponsor of the holy sites in Jerusalem, and that its work deserves appreciation and thanks and should continue.

As for the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, it states that adherents of different religions must be enabled to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque and perform their rituals completely as their religion freely states.

The deal, then, considers that the aggression committed by the Zionist entity against the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its change of facts are commendable, as it puts the authority entirely in the hands of the Zionist occupation and wants to consider that the authority of the Islamic and Christian sanctuaries’ management is a sovereign Zionist matter, in addition to not mentioning the Islamic endowments or any Islamic administration to the mosque, thus leaving its fate in the hands of the Israeli occupation.

The deal considers that dividing the mosque is the final solution to the conflict over it, taking into account the times related to prayer and holidays, and that is what the occupation is doing now through the temporal and spatial division of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque (will elaborate in a future post), in addition to put in the hands of the Zionist occupation the authority to specify the characteristics of the worshiper who wish to enter the mosque.

Jerusalem embraces all three faiths

Jerusalem is one of three holy sites in Islam after Mecca and Medina, and is the meeting position of the prophets and the destination of the three biblical beliefs: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as sacred to their followers, and linked to the spiritual life of those religions.

An aerial view shows Al-Aqsa mosque compound with the Dome of the Rock, the third most holiest site to Muslims in east Jerusalem’s the Old City, 02 October 2007. Photo by Yossi Zamir/Flash 90

Jerusalem’s holiness is displayed according to the Islamic vision.

One of Ramadan nights in Jerusalem. Photo by Islam Fawaqa

Islam inherited the Judaic and Christian religions, and all the former prophets are believed and venerated by Muslims, and most notably because Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) lead the prayer that gathered all the messengers of all time in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Isra and Mi’raj incident.

According to the Islamic concept of the Abrahamic monotheistic origin to which these religions belong, Islam recognizes, glorifies and sanctifies the prophets who were all preceding them, and whose mention was linked to the city of Jerusalem, such as Abraham, David, Solomon, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them). This unique Islamic vision makes Jerusalem, compared to Judaism and Christianity, holier according to the Islamic view.

Jerusalem welcomes its people, all under Islamic law.

Photograph shows a religious procession with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch going into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem during the Ottoman era in 1915

Muslims have allowed Christians and Jews to live in Jerusalem and to practice their religion freely therein. When Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him) conquered/freed the city, the Muslims guaranteed the safety of the lives of the Christians of Jerusalem through the pledge of age, the security of their property and churches, and the freedom of their belief and worship. Caliph Umar also refused to pray in the Holy Sepulcher Church as Sophronius of Jerusalem told him to do in order to catch up prayer time, instead he prayed nearby so that Muslims would not make this an excuse to convert the church into a mosque later.

Photos from the inside of Umar Mosque in Jerusalem, which was built in the place where Caliph Umar prayed opposite the southern courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in The Old City. Photos taken from Islam Fawaqa

Church of the Holy Sepulcher / Photo by *Saleh Zighari*

Muslims also guaranteed the Jews’ return to settle in, after being prevented from merely approaching or looking at it in previous ages. Later when Salahuddeen freed Jerusalem, Christians were not banned from visiting the city, and the Eastern Christians were allowed to settle back and openly oversaw their holy sites inside it. Jews were also allowed to remain in it. Thus, Jerusalem remained under Islamic rule a city that accepts the followers of the three religions, and that its people did not enjoy stability and freedom, except in the period of Muslims rule the city.

International Electronic Jerusalem Day

Picture taken by *Abdalafo Bassam* [Instagram: @abdalafo]

More than 160 institutions operating in 30 countries around the world launched the “World Electronic Jerusalem Day” on the seventh of June, 2020 that is primarily initiated by “Al-Quds Amanati” forum.

This day was launched in accordance with the 53rd anniversary of the occupationof the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the occupationof the eastern portion of Jerusalem City that persisted after the 1948 “Nakba” takeover of the City.

On this painful anniversary, with the aim of this day is to revive the duty of support solidarity for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque in the hearts of Muslims and free people of the world, and to shed light on the massive violations of the Israeli Occupation against holy sites and Jerusalemites, and to communicate their suffering through the cyberspace that has become the language of the world.

The Zionist occupation and the division of the city of Jerusalem as a result of the defeat in 1948:

The Zionists were able to declare a Jewish entity on the land of Palestine, and the Zionists did not adhere to the limits mentioned in the partition resolution, but instead they conquered most of the land of Palestine and tried to occupy the whole city of Jerusalem. The Arabs managed to stop the Zionist advance and protect the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rest of the city of Jerusalem. With the end of the war, the city of Jerusalem became divided, the western part was occupied by the Zionists, and the eastern part was not. The division that happened was illegal, as it came as a result of the occupation of West Jerusalem, which is not acceptable, and therefore it is not correct to use the name: East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem.

The nature of the Zionist occupation:

The Zionist occupation in its essence aims to empty Palestine from its legit people and to replace them with Jewish settlers, and to impose a Jewish identity on the state of Palestine where its capital is the city of Jerusalem. TheIsraeli occupation does not aim to integrate the Palestinians into its state, or accept an Islamic or mixed identity of the city of Jerusalem, but it is gradually working to Judaize the city to make it a pure Jewish city. Since the beginning of the occupation, the Palestinians are still standing against the occupation with all forms of resistance, and they insist on staying in and resisting in the city of Jerusalem despite the narrowing of the occupation on them in various ways to make their lives in the city difficult. In case the Palestinians are left to face the occupation alone, the Zionists will be able to impose their identity on them gradually, hence they should never be left alone by any means.

As I conclude this article, here are some pictures of the beautiful Jerusalem City before 1948 Nakba, with the hope that very soon we will find it freed from the occupiers.