Today, Wednesday, is the 33rd anniversary of the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Zionist thugs.
On that day in 1969 Zionist aggressors set fire to Al-Aqsa, the first Qibla and the third holiest mosque in Islam, in an attempt to destroy all Islamic landmarks in occupied Palestine.
Muslims all over the world remember this horrendous crime with great anger. Zionist gangs acted with the support of Israeli occupation forces, violating all laws, rules and international resolutions that provide the holy city with special rights and special status in order to preserve all its Islamic cultural landmarks. The criminal act which drew international condemnation gutted the east wing known as the Mosque of Omar, the south ceiling of the Mosque, the Mihrab of Salahuddin and the pulpit of Sultan Nuruddin.
All Arab and Islamic summits as well as conferences of Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations issued resolutions denouncing the barbarous Zionist crime and aggression both in Jerusalem and in other occupied Palestinian territories. There were calls for the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the occupied Arab territories, one of which is Holy Jerusalem.
The crime of setting fire to the Al-Aqsa Mosque was part of the ongoing Israeli aggressions against the mosque. Israeli occupation authorities have consistently adopted an aggressive policy toward Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy city of Jerusalem.
In 1969 they demolished the Al Magharba quarter near the Mosque along with a number of other mosques and Islamic schools founded during the Omayyad period. After the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, Israeli authorities demolished all old Islamic buildings surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque with the aim of changing and removing all Islamic landmarks in the city.
The Israeli aggression included building roads at Muslim cemeteries near the Al-Aqsa Mosque and carrying out excavation works in some of them, including Al-Rahma and Al-Yousufiya, and seizing other sites in Jerusalem and transforming them into Zionist military barracks.
Israel continues its attempts to judaize Jerusalem, adopting illegal methods that include the confiscation of Palestinian lands and properties and applying oppressive and aggressive methods against Arab and Muslim inhabitants.
The Israeli government has also promoted Jewish settlements in Jerusalem and encouraged the immigration of Jews from all over the world. With this in mind, Israeli settlers killed and wounded unarmed Palestinian worshipers inside the Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron on the West Bank in 1994.
The anniversary of the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque comes this year at a time when Israel is still reluctant to implement peace agreements in spite of the great flexibility shown by the Palestinians. Arab countries have also offered to recognize Israel in return for a total Israeli withdrawal from occupied Arab territories.
This anniversary comes as Israel continues to execute its plans to Judaize Jerusalem, still prevents Muslims from practicing their religious rites, confiscates more land in the city and builds more settlements in and around the city in order to change Jerusalem's demography.
Since the Zionist, Dennis Rohan, committed the crime on Aug. 21 1969, Zionist Jewish spite against Al-Aqsa Mosque has been growing. During the Camp David Summit, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak demanded the establishment of a Jewish synagogue inside the holy Aqsa Mosque compound.
This year's anniversary also comes at a time when Israeli occupation forces continue their military campaign against unarmed Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank, killing innocent men, women and children, destroying homes and property and even arresting youngsters.
Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam and the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), which has been privileged by God to contain the Two Holy Mosques, was among the first countries to condemn the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Kingdom called for a unified stand to stop Zionist violations of Islamic holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.
The Kingdom's unwavering historical support for the Palestinian people and the Islamic holy places in Jerusalem continues on all levels under the wise leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.
In 1992 King Fahd issued directives that the Kingdom would pay all expenses for the restoration of the Dome of the Rock, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Mosque of the Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him.)
The Kingdom also stood by - and stands by - the Palestinians in their determination to keep their lands and preserve the holy places; the Kingdom has also tried to alleviate Palestinian suffering caused by Israeli oppression and aggression.
Saudi Arabia spearheaded a diplomatic move with the cooperation of other Muslim countries that prompted the Security Council issue Resolution 478 in 1980 that called on all states that have diplomatic missions in Jerusalem to withdraw them immediately from the city. This resolution was considered an Islamic diplomatic victory over the Zionist designs against Jerusalem.
King Fahd donated $10 million to support the Jerusalem Fund during the 21st ministerial convention of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Karachi in 1993. In February 1994, King Fahd directed Riyadh Governor Prince Salman to launch a fund-raising campaign in the Kingdom to rebuild and save Islamic holy places in Jerusalem. Saudi Arabia has given priority to both Palestinian and Jerusalem-related issues.
King Fahd has said: "The Palestinian issue and the situation in the occupied Arab territories occupy a top position in our agenda and consume a great deal of our efforts and endeavors."
At the emergency Arab summit in Cairo in 2000, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, proposed the formation of two funds with a capital of $1 billion to protect the Islamic characteristics of Jerusalem and to support the Al-Quds Intifada.
The Kingdom contributed $250 million to the funds. Prince Abdullah also presented a peace proposal at the Arab summit in Beirut in the Kingdom's bid to achieve a just peace settlement in the Middle East.
The Saudi government and its people have always shown their readiness to defend Islamic causes. Earlier this year, the Kingdom launched a major fund-raising campaign in support of the Al-Quds Intifada and collected more than SR500 million. It has already distributed millions of riyals in assistance to families of the Palestinian martyrs.
The Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Conference, which was formed following the Aqsa Mosque burning, has denounced Israel for continuing its aggressive policy in occupied Arab territories.
It urged the international community to force Israel to abide by international resolutions and resume the peace process at the point it was broken off. Despite international resolutions adopted by the United Nations and the peace calls made by Arab and Islamic countries, Israel continues its aggressive and criminal practices in all occupied Arab territories.
(21 August 2002)
