Israel destroying Umayyad sites under Al-Aqsa in 'Judaisation' drive - Jerusalem's Palestinian governorate has urged international action to protect world heritage at the Al-Aqsa Mosque site threatened by Israeli excavations.

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https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-destroying-umayyad-sites-under-al-aqsa-excavations

Israeli excavations beneath Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque are destroying Islamic heritage sites in a bid to cement Israel's claim over the area, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said on Sunday.

The governorate said in a statement that leaked videos had shown "excavations and demolition operations carried out by the Israeli occupation underneath the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The statement added that the digging is "deliberately target Islamic monuments dating back to the Umayyad period (661-750 AD), which constitute living evidence and conclusive proof of the Muslims' right to the place".

"The occupation authorities are working to destroy these Islamic archaeological landmarks with the aim of obliterating the historical identity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and distorting the facts in favour of the alleged Temple narrative," it added, referring to attempts to have a Jewish temple built in the place of the mosque.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is considered one of the holiest sites in Islam.

The governorate urged the international community, the UN and UNESCO to intervene to stop the excavations taking place at the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Earlier this month, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, reported that Israel had escalated its digging of tunnels under Al-Aqsa, including an approximately 550-metre long tunnel that traverses Islamic, Canaanite and Roman archaeological sites.

Fakhri Abu Diab, a member of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Trustees Council, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that access to the sites is strictly limited to employees of the Israeli ministry of antiquities. He added that he had attempted to gain access to one of the sites, only to be turned away by Israeli police who took a photo of his ID card.

Abu Diab said that the tunnel is directly threatening the foundations of the southwestern side of the mosque.

In separate comments, former Jerusalem Grand Mufti and current head of the city's Supreme Islamic Council, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, said that the sites being promoted by Israel as underground "Jewish areas" are in fact old channels used to collect water in the mosque and nearby homes.

Israeli authorities drained the channels and expanded them, making them appear to be an interconnected network of underground tunnels, Sabri said.

https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-destroying-umayyad-sites-under-al-aqsa-excavations