MOROCCO: Moroccan Islamists protest Israeli excavations near Islam's third holiest shrine, the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem

A handful of Islamist organisations staged a protest in Rabat against Israeli excavation work near an entrance to a compound in Jerusalem that houses the al-Aqsa mosque. Islamist leaders demanded an Arab and Islamic boycott of Israel and UN intervention to save the holy site. Protesters chanted anti-Israeli and anti-American slogans. Islamist organisations gathered in downtown Rabat on Sunday (February 11) to voice their rejection of the Israeli excavations near a compound housing the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. The protesters appealed for international intervention to halt what they called the 'desecration' of Islam's third holiest shrine, the al-Aqsa mosque. They also chanted anti-Israeli and anti-American slogans and said that they were ready to sacrifice themselves for the holy mosque. "What Israel is doing these days, these excavations and the desecration of the al-Aqsa mosque, touches all Muslims across the world. They are in pain. That is why they are reacting in a variety of ways such as demonstrating and making demands. They are demanding that Arab and Muslim governments and organisations, as well as international organisations like the UNESCO and UN, intervene to stop this crime against Islamic religious heritage, against that which is holy to all Muslims. It is also part of the heritage of humanity and must be protected the way all heritage sites are protected. The sanctity of the site also drives Muslims to protect it in any possible way," said Saadeddine Othmani, Leader of the Justice and Development Party (JDP), the main Islamist party in the Moroccan parliament with 42 elected representatives. "This attempt to demolish the al-Aqsa mosque is a line of division with the Zionist entity and requires a real stand. First, all the ambassadors and representatives of the Zionist entity should be evicted from Arab and Muslim nations. Second, the Jerusalem Committee should meet to take practical steps to stop this horrible crime. The organisations of the Muslim world should also meet immediately. The time right now is a time of immediacy, a time of confrontation and a time of authoritative decisions. It is not a time for declarations of condemnation and other such verbal positions," Khaled Sefiani, a member of the National Committee to Support Iraqi and Palestine said. As chairman of the Jerusalem Committee, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, condemned the excavations but has not called for the committee to convene in six years. Israel began the work on Tuesday (February 6), prompting Palestinian protests and Israeli assurances the dig would not harm the shrine. Israel's antiquities authority said it was searching for artefacts at the base of the compound known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount before construction of a pedestrian bridge to replace a ramp leading up to the complex. But Arabs and Muslims around the world do not believe the Israeli authorities, and have called for the digs to be put to an immediate stop.

ITN Source | February 11, 2007

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