A right-wing Jewish organization called the Western Wall Heritage Foundation has circulated an invitation for bids to conduct excavations in tunnels under al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a top Palestinian official said on Sunday. A right-wing Jewish organization called the Western Wall Heritage Foundation has circulated an invitation for bids to conduct excavations in tunnels under al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a top Palestinian official said on Sunday.
Ahmad Qurei, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the work would begin on February 20th.
In a statement, Qurei, who chairs a PLO department for Jerusalem affairs, described the move as dangerous, Ma’an News Agency reports. He said that Israeli engineers and contractors had toured the al-Aqsa mosque compound secretly, a few days ago, to explore the location before submitting their bids.
Israel has already excavated dozens of tunnels under the Old City as part of its efforts to displace the indigenous Palestinian residents and replace them with Jewish settlers, according to Qurei.
One of the tunnels, he says, runs from Ein Silwan to the western wall of al-Aqsa mosque. Another major tunnel runs from the wall to the Omari school in the Muslim quarter. A third tunnel runs from the Muslim Quarter to the Western Wall of the mosque.
In addition, Qurei added that excavations are ongoing, in the attempt to connect between illegal settlement outposts in the Old City.
Whether advocating a one-state or a two-state ‘solution’, pundits rarely ever disclose the strategical factors behind such moves.
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