The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine issued a stark warning over the continued excavations carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities beneath the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surroundings. These so-called “Judaization tunnels” are part of a systematic attempt to falsify and distort the authentic history, heritage, and civilization of occupied Jerusalem, and to impose fabricated claims tied to “building the Temple.”
In a statement released by member of the PLO Executive Committee and head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, Dr. Ramzi Khouri, the Committee revealed that the most recent project – a secret tunnel stretching from the Buraq Plaza west of Al-Aqsa, passing through the Mughrabi Gate Plaza, and extending to Bab al-Khalil (Jaffa Gate) northwest of the Mosque’s wall – forms part of the accelerating campaign to Judaize occupied Jerusalem and the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Committee stressed that this tunnel is only one of nearly 60 excavations and tunnels carried out beneath and around Al-Aqsa, threatening the stability of its foundations and causing irreversible damage to historic and religious buildings. These structures are protected under international law, international humanitarian law, and UNESCO resolutions, all of which forbid tampering with, falsifying, or distorting cultural heritage and which have repeatedly affirmed the exclusive historical and religious rights of Muslims in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Committee called on the international community – and in particular UNESCO – to immediately condemn these grave violations and to dispatch a monitoring and fact-finding mission to occupied Jerusalem and its holy sites, in order to investigate actions that blatantly defy international resolutions on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the city’s cultural and religious heritage.
Reaffirming its stance, the Committee declared that occupied Jerusalem – with its Muslim and Christian holy sites, cultural landmarks, and deeply rooted history – remains an integral part of Palestine. It is the capital of the State of Palestine, as recognized by international legitimacy, and the Israeli occupation of the city and its sacred sites must come to an end.
