Palestinian official calls on Arabs to salvage al-Aqsa

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al-Malki on Sunday called for official and public Arab support to salvage the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque from judaization. Addressing the Arab ministerial meeting, Al-Malki said the Israeli government has been pursuing the policy of judaizing Jerusalem and partitioning the mosque, taking advantage of "complete Arab and Islamic and international silence." Al-Malki informed the conferees that Ofir Akunis, member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and one of his deputies, revealed last Wednesday a scheme to build 5,000 settlements and outposts in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Netanyahu, he added, agreed with his Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar to speed up construction of four large settlements in east Jerusalem and start immediate work of building a huge Jewish complex south of Al-Aqsa as well as a vast public park. He indicated that Tel Aviv plotted to strip the Islamic awqaf authority of its powers and assign a commissioner to place Al-Aqsa Mosque within jurisdictions of the Israeli Religious Services Ministry. The Israeli scheme is designed to partition Al-Aqsa between the Muslims and the Jews as a prelude to eventually turn it into a Jewish temple for prayers, Al-Malki warned anew. He called for "serious Arab stand at the official and public levels to save Al-Aqsa Mosque from judaization which has turned into a daily threat."