Occupied Jerusalem During a tour by Tel Aviv Tribune Net in the western tunnel under Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem, the intensity of the Israeli narrative that is passed on to its visitors about the place was noted.
The occupation uses visual and audio light shows and activities that simulate the construction of the alleged temple, and justifies all these excavations under the pretext of adhering to the land and heritage of the ancestors in the place.
The opening of the tunnel exit on this day in 1996 was the spark that led to the outbreak of what became known as the “Tunnel Uprising.”
Dozens of Jews and tourists wander around the huge tunnel at the same time, and its halls attract visitors who pass by a synagogue built in a large hall during one of their tour stops, where all the prayers and biblical rituals are performed. It is also noted that there are several levels of excavations that have branched out over the years in order to expand the tunnel horizontally and vertically.
Ongoing excavations
The Israeli excavations under Al-Aqsa Mosque have not stopped since 1968. Perhaps the most prominent of these stations was the popular uprising that erupted in 1996 after the opening of a door to exit the western tunnel, because visitors to the tunnel before that year used to enter and exit from the same door. A door was opened that was used as an exit to facilitate the movement of visitors to the tunnel and prevent them from crowding in its internal corridors.
On September 25, 1996, the Palestinians went out in a popular uprising and confrontations began with the opening of the tunnel gate, extending from the north of Palestine to its south. During the confrontations, which were called the “Tunnel Uprising,” 63 martyrs were killed, 32 of them in the West Bank and 31 in the Gaza Strip, while 1,600 others were injured with varying degrees of injury.
On the 28th anniversary of the outbreak of that uprising, there are still old excavations being renewed horizontally and vertically in an attempt to find what was not found in previous excavations.
On this occasion, Tel Aviv Tribune Net asked Abdullah Marouf, Professor of Jerusalem Studies at Istanbul 29 May University, and former Media and Public Relations Officer at Al-Aqsa Mosque, about the number of tunnels and excavations surrounding the mosque from below.
Countless excavations
Marouf said that there are a large number of excavations and tunnels that were dug over the course of 56 years under and around the mosque, which are difficult to count, but it can be said that these tunnels extend under all the walls of the mosque, and perhaps the longest and most famous of them is the “Hasmonean” tunnel, whose door was opened in 1996, which led to the outbreak of the tunnel uprising at that time.
He added that these tunnels are currently being used to create an underground space under the mosque, so that this space is used to establish the Zionist narrative about the history of Al-Aqsa, in addition to this being a worship space in which religious rituals are performed by extremist groups under the mosque.
Therefore, these tunnels serve a greater purpose than simply destabilizing the mosque, as was previously said. They actually contribute to performing certain religious rituals in and around it. We know that everything under the mosque is part of it, and thus the tunnels penetrate part of Al-Aqsa, according to Marouf.
The Palestinian academic pointed out that the excavations themselves are not the greatest danger, but rather they are a result of the greatest danger surrounding Al-Aqsa and which actually befell it in 1967, which is the occupation itself.
imposing sovereignty
Regarding the reasons for the continued serious violation of the status quo at the mosque, Marouf confirmed that the occupation authorities no longer care about it at all, and believe that it should be completely ended and a new phase should be moved to, the title of which is imposing full Israeli sovereignty over Al-Aqsa.
He added that in addition to Israel’s general disregard for the status quo, the followers of the Religious Zionism movement, which currently controls the Ministry of National Security led by Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Ministry of Finance led by Bezalel Smotrich, do not believe in the status quo at all. Since these groups have come to control and have the ability to change the Israeli government and control its course, they saw this as an appropriate and golden opportunity to completely change the status quo and impose their vision on Al-Aqsa Mosque.
On the other hand, the former media official at Al-Aqsa pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not care much about the current situation either, because his priority is the continuation and stability of his government, and this means handing over matters completely to the extremist temple groups represented by the religious Zionist movement in the Israeli government.
In response to a question about how to support Al-Aqsa and stop the Israeli violations in and below its courtyards, Marouf said that the mosque first needs to end the basic problem in it, which is the occupation, because its occupation is the root of all problems and the radical solution is to liberate it.
Arab and Islamic duty
He added, “In addition to that, working daily, both popularly and officially, to prevent these constant attacks and restore popular deterrence to the mosque is a duty of all Arab and Islamic peoples, not just the Palestinian people. The people of Jerusalem in particular are the first incubator and the first line of defense for it, and they must work to preserve it because this is the duty of the first time, in which no one can be a substitute for them.”
At the end of his talk, academic Marouf did not neglect to mention the importance of exposing and revealing the daily Israeli violations in the mosque, and presenting them to the entire world, which contributes to creating internal psychological deterrence in the occupation government.
In a previous interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, researcher in the history of Jerusalem, Ihab Al-Jallad, discussed the landmarks of Al-Aqsa that were damaged due to the excavations, most notably the landmarks of the western area of the mosque, starting with the foundations of the Islamic Museum and the Ottoman school, whose well was stolen and became part of the western tunnel, in addition to the Ribat Al-Kurd, whose floor, arches and supports were cracked, and the Tankaziyya school was not spared from the cracks either.