Jews have been planning to control Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount including the Dome of the Rock, since the time when Herzl said, in the first Zionistic conference in Basle in 1897, `If I ever control Jerusalem, I will definitely remove all the holy places except the Jewish ones'. This notion has been confirmed by the Jewish historian, Dr Israel Aldad, when he said in an interview for the Times: `Israel must build The Temple in its original place'. When he was asked how, he replied: `an earthquake might happen and change the whole area'.

The Israelis began these procedures as soon as they occupied the city on 5 June 1967. They destroyed whole Arab quarters including Mosques and Churches, one of those mosques was Al-Buraq mosque. They also confiscated many houses and buildings to be turn into Jewish Religious Centres or Houses of Worship, one of them was the residence of Haj Meen Al-Husseini, which was confiscated and changed into a synagogue.

Michael Rohan, an Australian tourist attempted to destroy Al-Aqsa mosque on 21 August 1969 by setting fire to it. His attempt resulted in the burning down of Saladin's pulpit and 1,500 cubic metres of the southeast part of the Mosque. The total damage was estimated at about one third of the total area. The Israeli Forces cut off the water supply and prevented the fire engines from arriving on time to extinguish the fire.

There have been also several attempts to bomb Al-Aqsa mosque. For instance:

• The Israeli Forces found a store of explosives near Al-Aqsa, planted by the terrorist group Me'air Kahana in May 1980.

• The Arab Guards caught 49 Jews carrying explosives and arrested them, but they were released by the Israeli Police the following day on 11 March 1983.

• Three bombs, used by the Israeli Army, were found inside a big pumpkin on 30 January 1984.

• In 1985, the Arab Guards discovered a large amount of explosives hidden in the branches of a tree, planned to explode when Mr. Helmet Kohl, the German Chancellor, visits Al-Aqsa mosque.

There have been many armed break-ins and shootings of worshippers:

• A group of armed extremist settlers from Keryat Arba'a, broke into Al Aqsa through Bab Al Selseleh and skirmished with the guards.

• An Israeli soldier broke into the mosque, after shooting indiscriminately, he killed 9 people and injured 136.

• On 8 October 1990, Israeli soldiers shot and killed 20 Palestinians and injured 115, during demonstrations against a group belonging to the so-called Trustees of The Temple attempted to lay down the foundation stone for their assumed Haykal.

Desecrating Christian Holy Places

Many attacks were also repeatedly carried out against Christian holy places. Examples include the attack on the St. Paul Episcopalian Church in the Prophets’ Street in Jerusalem in November 1987, during which the southern gate of the church and holy books were set ablaze.

Another attack was led by the Israeli settlement group known as Aterat Kohanim, which in 1989 seized part of St. John’s Convent near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In the demonstration that followed, headed by Patriarch Theodoros the First, the Patriarch was brutally attacked by the Israeli Forces, causing him to fall to the ground and his cross to be broken, while many Priests and Archbishops were also injured. The settlers, however, continued to occupy the convent whilst totally disregarding the many rulings that were issued by the courts, ordering them to leave.

On 18 May 1995, Israeli settlers tried to set fire to the Church of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. Two days later, a statue of Jesus Christ was stolen from the Italian Convent in the Shayyah area of Jerusalem.

Church land was not excluded from confiscation. Israel has confiscated the land of the Lutheran Church near the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives, for the purpose of establishing a Jewish settlement, which is currently under construction.

Harassment against Christian and Moslem holy places in the city eventually reached such a degree, that the Christian clergy in the mid-80s made demands that Israel prevents attacks against the Christian holy places, lest they be obliged to call for international protection.

Freedom of Worship ?

Christian and Muslim Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are prevented from entering Jerusalem to worship. This ban has been stringently enforced since the total closure imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip on 30 March 1993.

Jerusalem, all but a United City

The Israeli Ministry of Interior and the Mayor of West Jerusalem, invited more than 400 personalities (Mayors, Parliament Members, City Council Members and others) representing cities from 49 nations around the world to attend an International Conference in Jerusalem under the theme: "Sister Cities and Municipal Organizations".

The declared objective for the conference is to learn from past experiences and to face the challenges of the next century and to observe the “small beautiful country with its diversity of cities and people”.

The undeclared objective however, is to solicit international legitimacy for Israeli practices of annexation and Judaization of Arab East Jerusalem which was occupied by force in 1967, and to use the conference as a political cover to justify Israel's non compliance with the international legitimacy resolutions and the principles of peace, both of which deal with Arab East Jerusalem as an occupied Arab city, and that the whole of Jerusalem is subject to negotiations pending the beginning of the final status talks.

The Palestinian experience at the hands of the Israeli occupiers in Arab East Jerusalem has been and still is, a bitter experience. The city is governed by undeclared military rule, it is not united nor is it connected to West Jerusalem except by what is imposed on it by the brutal occupation, and its subversive means against an ever resisting Palestinian population.

Arab East Jerusalem suffers from Israeli discrimination, its indigenous Palestinian population are deprived of their basic civil rights, their right of permanent citizenship, their right of natural growth in terms of housing, work and education. The Palestinian population in Arab East Jerusalem suffers from practices by the Israeli occupation that are tantamount to incremental ethnic cleansing.

U.N. Resolutions on "Jerusalem" and the transfer of diplomatic representations there

The Security Council Resolutions condemn the annexation of Jerusalem and do not recognize it as the capital of Israel: The Israeli decision to make Jerusalem its permanent capital represented a sharp challenge to its international legitimacy, while at the same time contradicting all the international laws as well as the Security Council resolutions, especially resolutions 250 and 253 passed in 1968, which nullified all the Israeli legislative and administrative activities that might change the condition of the city, specifically the buildings and the land.

Moreover, this was emphasized in resolution 267 in 1969, which also nullified all of the Israeli legislative and administrative activities. Then there was resolution 465 in 1980, which asked Israel to remove all of the settlements in the occupied territories, including Eastern Jerusalem, and resolution 478 in 1980, which confirmed the two previous resolutions and asked all the member countries not to transfer their Diplomatic Corps to Jerusalem.

Finally, resolutions 672 and 673 in 1990 and resolution 904 in 1994, all of which considered Jerusalem an occupied territory and condemned all of the violent actions against the Palestinians, especially the massacre in the yard of Al-Aqsa Mosque in October of 1990.

The American Congress and its plan to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Some months ago, the American Congress voted 96 against 4 for a resolution to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The American government paid $1 for a 99 year lease for the land where the embassy will stand, Oh yes! one US Dollar.

• Are the honourable members of the American congress aware that this land has been privately owned since the 1700’s by six Palestinian families (75%) and a Palestinian religious organisation (25%) until it was confiscated by Israel when it occupied West Jerusalem in 1948 ?
  

• Are the honourable members of the American congress aware that on this very land were set up General Alenby’s headquarters, and that Great Britain appreciated and paid rent to the rightful owners without interruption until the end of the British mandate in 1948 ? (Alenby was the British General who entered Palestine in 1917 after the Turks were defeated)
  

• Are the honourable members of the American congress aware that by accepting this land from Israel, they are accepting stolen goods… Are they aware that by agreeing to build a new American embassy on it, they are unquestionably laundering Israeli crimes and among them is the confiscation of Palestinian land and property, which is illegal according to all International Laws and U.N Resolutions ?
  

• Are the honourable members of the American congress aware that Israel is trying to obtain international legitimacy for all its illegally acquired properties and territories by luring the USA into buying this land for such a derisory price… Are they aware that stolen goods are always cheap ?
  
  

• Are the honourable members of the American congress aware that by accepting this land they are negatively contributing to the peace process and are without any doubt helping the apartheideic Israeli regime in strengthening and reinforcing its ethnic cleansing against non-Jews… Are they also aware that the world community including the European Union, has finally perceived the true image of Israel and recognised its discriminatory policy against the Palestinians ?
  

• Are the honourable members of the American congress aware of anything ?