by Editor (Editor's Desk, Crescent International Vol. 48, No. 7, Muharram, 1441)
Last month marked the 50th anniversary of the arson attack on al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem by an Australian Zionist, but far from dousing those flames of hatred, they have spread to other parts of the Noble Sanctuary. The Zionists make no secret of their desire to destroy the Noble Sanctuary to build their mythical third temple in its place.
As the Muslims’ — and indeed the world’s — attention is focused on other trouble spots in the world (and there are many), it is easy to forget that al-Masjid al-Aqsa in under serious threat. Indeed, the entire city of Jerusalem is being targeted as part of the Zionist policy to eradicate the Islamic heritage of the city through a systematic program of Israelisation. Christian heritage sites that for centuries were protected by Muslims are no less threatened. The Zionists do not wish to see anyone else there; they want the entire city to themselves hence their total disregard for the sacred connection that Muslims and Christians have with the city.
The Zionists are using multiple strategies including ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by destroying their properties, refusing to allow Palestinians who have been absent for more than three months to return, and forcible occupation and confiscation of their properties.
The central tenet of this policy is the creeping annexation of al-Masjid al-Aqsa. It includes Zionists barging on to the Noble Sanctuary under the protection of heavily armed Israeli soldiers. This must be stopped.
