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Coverage of the Events since October 2000
Hände weg von Israel und Islam!
PM Qurei and Lebanon's Mufti Criticize Arab Silence Towards Jerusalem
2005-05-12
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/ english/details.asp? name=4596
RAMALLAH, Palestine, May 12, 2005 (IPC + WAFA) - -[Official PA website] Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei criticized the silence of the Arab nations towards the violations and attacks against the holy city of Jerusalem by the Israeli occupation authorities and the settlers, warning that the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza Strip might mean tightening the Israeli grip over Jerusalem and the West Bank.
PM Qurei asserted in an address before the Preaching and Guidance Conference, which was organized by the Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs in Ramallah, that the Palestinian people faced an unprecedented colonial settler aggression, which was being supported without limits.
"Al Quds [Jerusalem] is in danger and we haven't heard one word from our Arab world; one strong and loud word to say 'Enough. This is a red line.'," Qurei said, adding that Jewish extremists call on taking over the holy Al Aqsa Mosque everyday, but faced only by shy responses from the Arab states.
"We only hear debates and meetings, describing us as the steadfast people and the defenders of the entire nation, the first line of defense for Muslims and Christians. This is the most perilous stage for us," Qurei explained. "There is a plot to reshape and divide the whole area, and steal its resources."
The Prime Minister considered the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza as a deal, based on tightening the Israeli control over Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, affirming that the withdrawal is based entirely on the Israeli plans and needs.
"In exchange for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, they want, in the same way, form, strategy and tactics, a unilateral solution in the West Bank that aims to annex Jerusalem in the beginning, which is obvious through the belt of settlements around Jerusalem and the Apartheid Wall around the West Bank."
He maintained that the Israeli government would want to trade the withdrawal from Gaza with the establishment of more illegal settlements in the West Bank and fulfillment of the Judaization of Jerusalem.
At the same context, the General Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Mohammed Qabbani, called on the League of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to urgently move against the Israeli threats to Al Aqsa Mosque.
Sheikh Qabbani expressed amazement yesterday, during a meeting with the Council of Trustees for the International Federation of Muslim Scholars, headed by Sheikh Dr. Yousef Al Qaradawi, of the Arab and Islamic silence towards the Israeli threats.
He considered Al Aqsa Mosque entrusted to the Arabs and Muslims; not only Palestinians, and that they should all move quickly to preserve the holy Muslim places.
