Muslims should familiarise ourselves with the steps the Zionists have taken to occupy Al-Aqsa in their ambition to build their Jewish temple; the Haykal of Solomon.
Step 1: Annexing Al-Buraq wall
On August 20th 1929, a group of extremist Jews, with the help of the British army, broke through into the Al-Aqsa complex and took control of the western area, including Al-Buraq Wall (now referred to as the Wailing Wall by the Jews). In just 15 days, 338 Palestinians died in their effort to thwart the Zionists' plan.
Step 2: Arson of the Mosque
On August 21st 1969, an extremist Jew called Dr Dennis Michael Rohan (Jewish name: Mikhail Rohan) set Al-Aqsa on fire. The fire destroyed most of the mosque, including the historical minbar (pulpit), used by Salahuddin al-Ayyubi after he liberated Al-Aqsa from the Christian Crusaders. The Palestinians succeeded in extinguishing the fire, but Dr Rohan was freed from all charges on grounds of insanity.
Step 3: Laying the foundation
On October 15th 1989, the "Guardians of the Temple" group laid the foundation for the Haykal. A spokesperson noted that this move constituted the beginning of Jewish renaissance.
Step 4: Judaisation of the Mosque
Since 1967, various plans have been carried out by extremist Jews to replace Al-Aqsa with their Haykal. Temple guards were trained, special Kohannim robes for the rabbis were sewn, and even a model of the temple was built near Al-Aqsa. Ehud Olmert, former mayor of Jerusalem (and later Prime Minister of Israel) also officiated at the opening of the Jewish Museum, built underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque
Step 5: Digging of the tunnel
After laying the foundation, the Zionists started excavation works. Their tunnel underneath the mosque reached the length of 400 metres (half the length of Al-Aqsa), thus damaging the structure. Sheikh Raed Solah, the leader of the Islamic movement in Jerusalem who exposed this fact to the public was imprisoned by the Zionist regime
Step 6: Expanding the Geography of "Israel"
After the declaration of "The Greater Jerusalem" in 1982 that was approved by the Knesset ("Israeli" parliament), the Zionist regime endeavoured to expand the geography of Al-Quds to 279 donums. They succeeded in doing so by including 49 Jewish towns and villages in Jerusalem and expanding the demography of Jews in Palestine. 70% of Palestinian land was confiscated and only 13% left to the original owners.
Step 7: Evicting the Palestinians
Since 1967, more than 435 Palestinian families have had their houses demolished and 700,000 of the people were driven out of their homes. 50,000 were exiled; they were not allowed to re-enter Palestine after they furthered their studies or sought medical attention abroad. As a result, before the construction of the segregatory West Bank Wall, there were only 70,000 Palestinians left in "Israel" while the number of Jews reached 400,000. After the wall was built, the number of Jews in "Israel" rose even more rapidly
Step 8: Occupying the Mosque
In 1967, the Zionist army under the command of General Mordechai entered Haram As-Sharif in tanks. The army seized the key of Al-Magharibah Gate and took control of the city's east side, including Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Step 9: Killing the Palestinians
In the Deir Yassin incident, 254 Palestinians were murdered. This number includes 145 women, 35 of which were pregnant. 150 corpses were flung into disused wells. 150 women were paraded around the city while naked, and the Jews spat on them. Jewish tyranny over Palestinians has never stopped; the brutality and injustice have been going on for decades and continues every single day.
