AMMAN, 13 July 2003 — The Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan’s largest political party, yesterday accused US President George W. Bush of pioneering Israel’s decision to allow Jews to enter Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine.
In a statement marking the 1,000 days’ juncture of the Palestinian uprising, the IAF also blasted the “road map” as a “suspicious scheme” aimed at “aborting” the Palestinian uprising which broke out on Sept. 30, 2000, following a defiant visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
“Bush spoke during the Aqaba meeting on June 4 about sharing the holy land between Israelis and the Palestinians. What Bush meant found expression in the Zionist decision allowing Jews to enter the Islamic shrine, because historians do not recognize the existence of any holy place for the Jews in Jerusalem,” the statement said.
The IAF cautioned that allowing Jews to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque had the aim of “demolishing the Islamic shrine and rebuilding the alleged biblical temple in its place”.
It pointed out that the Israeli government was “seeking to accomplish this objective, benefiting from the general political situation in the region emanating from the US occupation of Iraq”.
