Sheikh Najeh Bakirat, deputy director of the Islamic Awqaf in Jerusalem and head of al-Aqsa Academy for Science and Heritage, has warned against a Judaization project called the “holy basin” in east Jerusalem, saying it is aimed at changing the holy city’s identity.

“According to the occupation’s definition, the holy basin is an extension of the biblical gardens, including the Old City walls and the Aqsa Mosque,” Sheikh Bakirat said in press remarks.  

He pointed to the ongoing Israeli efforts to take over and Judaize the Old City and its surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods, especially through demolishing homes and displacing Jerusalemite families.

Sheikh Bakirat described what is happening in the Palestinian areas of east Jerusalem, including Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, at-Tur and Bustan, as “ethnic cleaning practices.”

“The occupation wants to change the existing Arab features [of the holy city] through confiscating lands, expelling the native population and replacing them with Jews, and to change its visual appearance through carrying out Judaization projects and tunnels underground, and demolishing homes and establishing aerial tramways above the ground,” the Islamic Awqaf official underscored.

“The Jerusalemite neighborhoods suffer from poverty, siege and racism. This is an everyday occurrence,” he said.

Since the year 2000, the native residents of Jerusalem have been facing escalating Israeli efforts to Judaize the holy city as a prelude to building the alleged temple on the ruins of the Aqsa Mosque.

 

Source: The Palestinian Information Center