UM AL-FAHM, Palestine, September 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Hundreds of Islamic and Christian worship places in the occupied Palestinian lands have been demolished by the Israeli occupation forces since 1948, according to a new report by Al-Aqsa Foundation for the Restoration of the Islamic Holy Places.
"Islamic and Christian shrines have been suffering under the yoke of the Israeli occupation which wanted to obliterate the identity of the Palestinian people," said the report, cited by Al-Quds Press news agency.
More than 1200 mosques were demolished by the Israeli forces during 1948 alone, noted the foundation.
Israel has even enacted legislations to legalize the seizure of Islamic endowment lands.
The Israeli government has lambasted the Palestinian Authority for demolishing synagogues left by the occupation forces after their withdrawal from Gaza Strip.
Several Muslim scholars have agreed that it is lawful to demolish places of worship built on territories usurped by occupation forces like synagogues in the liberated Gaza Strip.
Targeting Mosques
Al-Aqsa foundation said the Israeli occupation authorities have turned 18 mosques into Jewish synagogues.
It added that other 16 Muslim places of worship were turned into animal farms, pubs and restaurants.
"Mosques in Queseria, Ashkelon and Ein Houd have been turned into pubs," said the report.
"Worse still, the Israeli authorities allowed the shooting of a porno film in a mosque in Safd."
The foundation further said Israel gave the green light for turning two mosques in Safd and Akka into animal farms.
Other 41 mosques and worship places were closed down, said the report.
Al-Aqsa foundation added that the Israeli authorities have confiscated Islamic endowment lands under the guise of a decades-old absentee property law.
The Israeli government enforced the law under which large tracts of Palestinian lands in Occupied Al-Quds (East Jerusalem) and elsewhere could be confiscated.
The report added that violations by Jewish extremists continued against the Islamic holy places under the watchful eyes of the Israeli authorities.
"Jewish extremists have been turning mosques into synagogues under varied claims as was the case with a mosque in Tabariya."
Israel recently said it was planning to knock down a 20-year-old mosque in Al-Quds as part of its steady demolition policy in the holy city.
The Badr mosque, which falls under the control of the Waqfs department, the official caretaker of Muslim sites in the holy city, is currently under reparation. It was built in 1986.
Palestinian and Jordanian archeologists have warned that ongoing Israeli excavations have weakened the foundations of Al-Aqsa Mosque, cautioning it would not stand a powerful earthquake.
Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which includes Al-Aqsa Mosque, represents the heart of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Jews claim that their alleged Haykal (Temple of Solomon) exists underneath Al-Haram Al-Sharif which was the first qiblah (direction Muslims take during prayers).
Al-Haram Al-Sharif's significance has been reinforced by the incident of Al-Israa’ and Al-Mi`raj (the night journey from Makkah to Al-Quds and the ascent to the Heavens by Prophet Muhammad).