BAIT-UL-MOQADDAS Two Palestinians were injured in a clash with Israeli security forces in Bait-ul-Moqaddas's old city on Monday as Arabs gathered to commemorate the 31st anniversary of an arson attack on the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The fracas erupted as around 50 Palestinians, led by their top official for Bait-ul-Moqaddas Faisal Husseini, marched to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam.
The march, also joined by Palestinian Communications Minister Imad Faluji, is part of a campaign by the Palestinian Authority and Orient House, the Palestine Liberation Organization's headquarters in Bait-ul-Moqaddas, "In defense of all Islamic and Christian sites." "We are here to commit ourselves to the protection of this place and all Muslim and Christian holy places, we also hope through our unity we will be able to protect the Jewish places as well," Husseini said.
Israeli border police beat two Al-Aqsa guards with batons, leaving them bloody and bruised, one of the victims said.
"They hit us for no reason. They were trying to be provocative and cause a situation," Mohammed Abu Kahtesh told AFP, his bloody face bandaged and shirt spattered and torn.
The second man, Bassam Abu Libdeh, was receiving treatment in a hospital, Palestinian officials said, without specifying his injuries.
"The problem is that the police are putting the city in a state of tension. The police are deployed everywhere and act in brutal ways," Husseini told reporters.
On 21 August, 1969, an Australian Zionist named Denis Rohan committed the sacrilegious crime, in the hope that the fire would destroy the mosque and pave the way for the building of a Jewish synagogue in its place.
The Zionist government then sought to distance itself from the colossal crime, claiming that the perpetrator was demented and therefore couldn't be held responsible for what he did.
The fire gutted the mosque's 900-years minbar and caused irreparable damage to the mosque's interior.
The Zionist authorities refused to put up genuine efforts to extinguish the fire and even sought to hinder Palestinian efforts to put off the fire.
The anniversary of the infamous arson, says Bait-ul- Moqaddas's Mufti Ikrema Sabri, underscores relentless Zionist attempts to destroy the mosque.
Nearly four years ago, the Zionist government secretly opened a subterranean tunnel beneath the mosque, which Muslim archaeologists say could undermine the foundation of the old structure.
The opening of the tunnel sparked off bloody clashes and street battles with Palestinians that left 18 Zionists and up to 65 Palestinians dead. Moreover, at the recent Camp David talks, the Zionist Premier Ehud Barak demanded the establishment of a Jewish synagogue inside the Haram Al Sharif's yard.
On August 7 the Zionist high rabbinate council discussed the possibility of building a synagogue.
The discussion coincided with mounting Zionist pressures on the Wakf officials to allow Jewish extremists to enter the Haram Sharif plaza as tourists.'' On August 10, members of the so-called Temple Mount Faithful'' accompanied by other Jewish fanatics tried to enter the Aqsa Mosque through Bab Al Maghareba, of the Haram Al Sharif's main gates.
The extremists marched in tumultuous demonstrations chanting anti-Muslim slogans.
They demanded the building of a temple in place of the Aqsa Mosque.