Israel starts dismantling footbridge to Al Aqsa
Jordan has raised concerns with the Israeli occupation about the work at the site
Palestinian officials at Al Aqsa Compound and political activists in occupied East Jerusalem have urged the Jordanian government to follow up and send representatives to monitor the ongoing dismantling of a wooden footbridge between the city’s so- called ‘ Western Wall plaza’ and Al Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been reported to have ordered dismantling and instructed Israeli authorities to immediately begin the work.
“We need to know and find out what the Israelis have been doing in Al Aqsa Mosque. This issue needs diligent and close monitoring,” said Dr Najeh Bakirat, former Chief of Al Aqsa Compound and the current Head of all the Sharia schools in the compound.
He explained that there were two external footbridges: one was built in 2004 under the pretext that the dune on which the footbridge was built was at risk of falling at any moment. In 2007, the Israeli authorities dug the dune and set up another wooden footbridge.
Key issues of concern
“One of the key issues of concern for Palestinians is that they did not want the Israelis to even touch the dune nor to dig it at all,” he told Gulf News.
“At the end of the day, now there are two footbridges: we need to know which will be dismantled and which will be kept. We also need to know what improvements will be added to the bridge that remains,” he said.
“We need to have representation during the work to monitor and follow up what is going on. That is the role of Jordan— to never leave the Israelis with a free hand to act on the premises.”
The footbridges are used by Israel to facilitate the unauthorised entry of radical Jewish colonists and tourists, who believe that the Temple of Solomon, holy to Jews, is buried underneath.
The Jordanianwaqf ( religious endowment) has jurisdiction over the site as per agreements with Israel, and oversees it.
The Israeli news site Haaretz has suggested that “a senior Israeli official said the walkway was the initiative of local officials who lacked authority and did not notify or request the permission of Israel’s government.“
According to Haaretz, the walkway inquestion is Israeli in origin and was in the process of construction when its removal was ordered by the Prime Minister.
The Israeli daily has claimed that concern about the bridge was raised by the Jordanian royal palace which was angry about the lack of coordination with Jordan over the matter.