Palestinians warn against Israeli plans on Al-Aqsa Mosque

PA official Mahmoud al-Habbash said on Sunday that there would be no sovereignty over Islamic and Christian holy sites other than Palestinian sovereignty.
 
“This is the full right of the Arabs, including Muslims and Christians,” he said.
 
He warned that Tel Aviv is planning to “divide” the Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying that such “efforts will not succeed.”
 
Meanwhile, Hamas representative Yunis al-Astal also warned that Israel is seeking to “destroy” the mosque in order to build a temple.
 
The Israeli Knesset is set to discuss a proposal later this week to place the so-called Temple Mount, where Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, under Israeli sovereignty.
 
Tel Aviv had previously confirmed its plans to replace the Al-Aqsa Mosque with a temple.
 
Palestinians have denounced the plan as desecration. They say it is part of the Israeli regime’s ongoing attempts to distort Arab and Islamic history.
 
Palestinians, however, argue that al-Quds is the capital of a future Palestinian independent state, and that its heritage should remain intact.
 
Over the past decades, Israel has tried to change the demographic makeup of al-Quds by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.
 
Over half a million Israelis live in more than 120 settlements built since the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East al-Quds, during the Six War of 1967.
 
The international community considers the settlements as illegal.