Awkaf minister asks Arab, Islamic organizations to save Al Quds, Aqsa Mosque

GAZA - Dr. Taleb Abu Sha'ar, the PA minister of Awkaf (endowments) and religious affairs, has expressed indignation at the "Israeli" controlled 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) municipality's decision to displace 1,500 Palestinians from Bustan area in Silwan suburb, south of the Aqsa Mosque, in occupied 'Jerusalem'.

Abu Sha'ar criticized the "Israeli" occupation authority for trying to evacuate 88 homes at the pretext that they were threatened with demolition, and granting their owners alternative housing.

He warned in a statement on Sunday that 'Jewish' (Zionist) colonialist groups, backed by the "Israeli" government and municipality, were carrying out excavations in Silwan neighborhood in a bid to control the biggest possible number of Palestinian homes in it.

The IOA attempt to evacuate Palestinians from their homes in occupied Jerusalem is not a new step but rather is the latest in a series of attempts to Judaize 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) after emptying it of its indigenous inhabitants, the minister said, and warning that such attempts would carry "serious consequences".

Abu Sha'ar asked all concerned Arab, Islamic and international organizations along with the Arab League to immediately intervene to save the Aqsa Mosque and 'Jerusalem' and to support the steadfastness of the holy city's Arab inhabitants in face of such Judaization schemes.