AL-QUDS (Jerusalem) Historical Document

Organisation of the Islamic Conference AL - QUDS Committee

AL-QUDS A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT

fHK LIBRARY

K FAHB myVESSITY OF PETRSLEOM & MINEMLf DHAHRAN *31261, SAUDI ARABIA

Inside the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat Al-Sakhrah) with Islamic Ornamentation

Preface by His Majesty King Hassan II, of Morocco, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee.

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HIS MAJESTY KING HASSANII KING OF MOROCCO

Praise be to Allah... Prayer and peace be upon Allah’s Apostle and his

family

lam pleased and proud to announce the fulfilment, today, of one of our

cherished wishes and the realization of a deed zhich was the object of strong

desire and keen interest and necessitated untiring and commendable efforts.

The wish which permeated our hearts and pervaded our thoughts has today

come into being in the concrete form of a book which lam happy to present as

one of the means of our plan and the instruments of our struggle.

Al - Quds Al - Sharif holds a high position in the concerns of Muslims all

over the world in view of the ties it has with their religious faith and the

important place it occupies in their political and cultural history. Indeed, this

city is the cradle of divine messages and the crossroads of religions. Its Al-

Aqsa Mosque was made by the grace of Allah the First Qiblah and Third

Shrine of Islam. When the city fell a prey to Zionist occupation and was

subjected to spoliation and usurpation, all Muslims were filled with sadness

and pain. They felt the gravity of their misfortune and realized the extent of

their mishap and the heaviness of their loss.

The City of Al- Quds, which was during the era of Islamic rule before its

capture by the Zionists, a place in which people lived together in harmony

whatever their religions and beliefs and where people attended to their

religious affairs under the auspices of tolerance, freedom, security and peace,

has become, since usurpation and occupation, a victim of tyrannical

administration, an object of oppressive domination and a place where the

Zionist usurper is causing havoc through judaization, transformation and

mutilation of religious, historical and cultural sites. ,9g

14

The calamity distressed my heart as it distressed the hearts of every Arab

and Muslim. The disastrous occupation of Arab territories and Islamic

Shrines and the catastrophe which befell our own brothers, their homes and

their fatherland, as a result of aggression and seizure, caused us profound pain

and grief and mobilized our minds and our souls. From that moment on, the

situation of the occupied Arab territories in general and the City ofAl- Quds in

particular has become my major preoccupation. I focussed my thoughts on the

effective ways and means to face up to the problem and began the struggle, as

an individual within the Arab- Muslim family and in my capacity as the

Commander of the Faithful, denouncing aggression, deprecating occupation,

stigmatizing the enemy’s odious conduct, condemning its defiant domination

and demanding the withdrawal of the Iroops of aggression and the restoration

of the usurped right to its lawful owners.

Then came the treacherous attack on and desecration of Al- Aqsa Mosque

in 1969, through arson. In the face of this new danger, I hastened to call the

first Islamic Conference in Rabat, the capital of our Kingdom, with the

purpose of uniting the Muslim leaders over a plan likely to serve as a basis for

Islamic action aimed at defending Al- Quds Al- Sharif, and protecting its holy

places and civilizational landmarks. The Conferenc achieved the desired

collective awareness and, by the grace of Allah, facilitated the necessary

agreement.

During the Tenth Islamic Conference, my brothers the Heads of State

conferred on me the honour of the chairmanship of Al- Quds Committee. I

took upon myself to spare no effort and to try every sound means and effective

avenue to defend the cause ofAl- Quds and to explain its justness so that the

City of Peace may be restored to Arab sovereignty and become again the home

of religious tolerance as well as coexistence and cohabitation in peace and

security among the believers of different religions.

During the first meeting of Al- Quds Committee to be held under my

chairmanship, the Committee recommended, on the basis of the Information

Plan approved by it, the preparation of a document in the form of a book such

as this. The Committee sought to confer on this document a scientific character

likely to bring out the religious, political and cultural importance of the Holy

15

City and to highlight the historical and legal facts which prove the Arab

character of Al- Quds Al- Sharif and invalidate the claims and allegations

spread by hostile media with the intention of falsifying and mutilating the

history of the City of Peace. It is indeed gratifying that this document, which

has been prepared by an elite of Muslim intellectuals, should come into being

as a positive work, consistent with the wishes and requests of the Committee.

To make it possible for this document to optimally play the role assigned

to it, namely to spotlight the truth about the cause of Al- Quds, to objectively

explain its many dimensions, to enlighten world public opinion and to

promote global awareness, this book is published, in addition to the Arabic

version, in both French and English.

I am firmly convinced that this book, which constitutes one of the aspects

of the efforts we are exerting in favour of Al- Quds, will effectively contribute

to delivering the City of Peace from the claws of occupation and returning it to

the auspices of Arab sovereignty with the ensuing beneficial effects this is

bound to have on the conscience and minds of the world community.

I pray to Allah to bestow wide dissemination and resounding success on

this document and to crown our ceaseless and sincere efforts with final victory.

He is the Granter of help and success.

The Servant of Al- QudsAl- Sharif

Interior view of the Mosque of the Dome (Masjid Al-Sakhrah Al-Musharrafah).

17

INTRODUCTION

BY H.E. HABIB CHATTY SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF

THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE

This book presents a detailed history of the City of Peace, Al-Quds Al-Sharif, which holds the eternal heritage of revealed religions and has seen the fusion of peoples and societies ever since the Arab Cannanites built it over four thousand years ago. The City has

been linked to the Arab people of Palestine from time immemorial and indelibly impre¬ gnated by Arab Islamic rule since the Keys of the City were handed over to the just Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, with the tolerance and generosity of Islam as well as its respect for the people of the Revealed Books and the freedom it has given to all people to worship God, to perform their rites and to protect their sacred and historical places which are the glory of the people of Palestine, Muslims, Christians and Jews alike.

The City of Al-Quds and the people of Palestine have been suffering, as a result of Israeli occupation, the ordeal of destruction, annihilation, transformation of historical and holy sites and persecution of religious people be they Muslims or Christians; an ordeal un¬ thinkable in this era of freedom of thought, democracy-in-action, respect of peoples and non-violation of their homelands, holy shrines and places of worship.

The Arab and Islamic world has been concerned by this ordeal which aims at diverting Arab history from its course, by planting colonialist settlements between its eastern and western parts thus separating its African wing from its Asian one. Apart from the military, political and diplomatic efforts made by the Arab and Islamic States within the framework of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, for the liberation of Palestine and the attainment by its people, of their right to self-determination and to the establishment of their own State on their land, the Organization of the Islamic Conference has concerned itself - since King Hassan 11 called for its creation in the aftermath of the

burning of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa in 1969 - with the Palestine question and support for the Palestinian people. The Organization has concentrated, since its inaugural conference in Rabat in September 1969, on the unification of opinion among Islamic peoples and coun¬ tries in Africa and Asia in favour of the Palestine question and the harmonization of their militant action in support of the people of Palestine.

However, the attempt to set fire to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, the criminal acts perpetrated by the Zionist occupation authorities and the attempts to transform the characteristics of the Islamic holy places-including particularly the excavations beneath the walls of Al-Masjid Al Aqsa, which expose the Mosque to the threat of collapse-are part of a dangerous scheme aiming at the demolition of all the surrounding Islamic sites, whether they be institutions, mosques or houses, with a view to taking over the Mosque of Al-Haram Al-Sharif and building the Jewish Temple.

This is accompanied by forced emigration of the Arabs and their replacement by Jew¬ ish settlers, the expropriation of Arab land in the outskirts of Al-Quds and the transfer of the

IS

Zionist capital to the Holy City with the purpose ofJudaizing it completely and annexing it

to Israel.

These dangerous attempts which are likely to transform the City of Peace into a city of war, and the City of three religions into a Zionist city and to deprive Muslims from their First Qiblah and. Third Shrine, has prompted the Organization of the Islamic Conference to set up the Al-Quds Committee under the chairmanship of His Majesty King Hassan II, granting him full powers to undertake the necessary measures for the implementation of the Committee’s programme, in furtherance of the Committee’s aims, i.e. the protection of the Arab and Islamic character of the Holy City, and its restoration to Arab and Islamic sovereignty.

Since its first meeting in July 1979 in Fez under the chairmanship of His Majesty King Hassan II, the Al-Quds Committee has drawn up a political and diplomatic action plan to place the question of Al-Quds in its international framework as a sacred Islamic City violated by occupation and threatened in its historical Islamic role through Judaization and destruction of its landmarks.

The instructions and interventions of His Majesty the King during the five meetings held so far by the Al-Quds Committee, were aimed at extricating the question from its emo¬ tional context and dealing with the problems in depth, moving them into the international scene to find a solution thereto in cooperation with the leaders of Big Powers and interna¬

tional organizations.

In addition to the international diplomatic endeavours decided by the Al-Quds Com¬ mittee, which took the form of meetings of His Majesty King Hassan II with His Holiness the Pope, the French President and leaders and representatives of the Superpowers and in¬ ternational organizations, the Al-Quds Committee has attached special importance to the information aspect. It recommended at its first meeting the drawing up of an information plan on the question of Al-Quds and Palestine. It also decided to compile a basic scientific document asserting the Arab character of Al-Quds and highlighting the ideological, politic¬

al and Cultural importance of the City, to Muslims.

The document we are presenting today is a useful achievement contributed by an intel¬ lectual elite from the Islamic world in compliance with the resolution of the Al-Quds Com¬ mittee and in furtherance of the Committee’s aims, i.e. to inform world public opinion of the historical, religious, cultural, political and legal dimensions of the issue of Al-Quds and to contribute to the City’s return to its privileged status as the cradle of coexistence and toler¬ ance amongst all divine religions, under the auspices of Arab sovereignty.

We are confident that this valuable book will help enlighten public opinion on the true dimensions of the question of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and mobilize the conscience of intellec¬ tuals and writers to work for the triumph of justice and the salvation of the Holy City from its present ordeal so that it may become again the cradle of civilization and the melting-pot of

history.

Habib Chatty Secretary-General

Organization of the Islamic Conference

19

2q Late 16th Century map showing Al-Quds as the Centre of the world.

Bismillahirrahman Irraheem

This study on the question of Al-Quds has been made by the

Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on behalf of the Isla¬

mic World Governments and peoples. It presents the facts under¬

lying the problem to all governments and peoples in the world and

invites them to contribute to the search for a solution so that Al-

Quds may cast off the yoke of tyranny and that just peace may pre¬

vail in the City of Peace.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE

AND THE QUESTION OF AL-QUDS

CHAPTER I

The question of Al-Quds has reached a crucial stage since the Israeli measures taken against the City in

1980.However, this question had emerged on the international political scene since disaster struck Palestine

in 1948 involving the occupation of large Palestinian areas by the Zionists. And it became a more pressing

problem after the Zionist aggression in 1967 which enabled Israel to occupy the East of Al-Quds, the West

Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Hemmah Area in Palestine in addition to other Arab territories in the Sinai

and the Golan.

The OIC’s eagerness to find a solution to the question of Al-Quds stems from its full awareness of the

importance of the Holy City to all the faithful in the world, the significance of its human and cultural herit¬

age and the fact that Israeli aggression against Al-Quds constitutes a threat to world peace and security.

The OIC efforts are based on its Charter which emphasizes the faith of all Islamic States in the U.N.

Charter and the fundamental human rights whose principles and objectives are considered a basis for fruit¬

ful cooperation among peoples". The OIC Charter also stipulates that the Islamic States are determined to

strengthen their spiritual and fraternal ties, protect the freedom of their peoples and their common cultural

heritage based essentially on justice, tolerance and non-discrimination. In their endeavours to increase hu¬

man well-being, progress and freedom everywhere, they are resolved to unite their efforts in order to estab¬

lish world peace which brings about security, freedom and justice for their peoples and all peoples through¬

out the world. The preamble of the OIC Charter provides for "the preservation of Islamic spiritual, moral,

social and economic values which will remain one of the important factors of progress for mankind".

(Preamble of the Charter).

With these noble goals in mind, the OIC has laid down since its creation in the aftermath of the arson of

the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969, a number of objectives including the following: "To coordinate efforts for the

safeguarding and liberation of the Holy Places and in support of the struggle of the people of Palestine to

help them regain their rights and liberate their land. To work for the elimination of racial segregation, dis¬

crimination and the eradication of colonialism in all its forms. To take the necessary measures in support of

international peace and security based on justice. To create a suitable atmosphere for the promotion of

cooperation and understanding among Member States and other countries". (Article II, Charter).

From the moment it was established, the OIC has been anxious to warn world public opinion and gov¬

ernments throughout the world of the danger of Zionist occupation on Al-Quds. It declared in its first pub¬

lished statement that: «The grievous event of 21st August 1969, which caused extensive damage by arson to

the Sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque, has plunged over six hundred million Muslims throughout the world into the

deepest anguish. This sacrilege against one of humanity’s most venerated shrines and the acts of destruction

21

and profanation which have taken place under the Israeli military occupation of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, a

sacred city for Muslims, Christians and Jews alike, have exacerbated tensions in the Middle East and

aroused indignation among all peoples in the world. The Heads of State and Government represented de¬

clare that the threat to the sacred Shrines of Islam in Al-Quds is the result of the City occupation by Israeli

forces. The preservation of the sacred character of these Shrines and the guarantee of unimpeded access to

them and of free movement therein require that the Holy City should be restored to its pre-June 1967 status,

which has been consecrated by thirteen hundred years of history. The OIC has urged all Governments parti¬

cularly those of France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and the United States

of America to take into account the Muslims’ deep attachment to the City of Al-Quds and the solemn re¬

solve of their Governments to strive for its liberations

Throughout the 70’s the OIC continued to warn world opinion of the dangers of the oppressive Zionist

occupation of Al-Quds. It put the matter before the Security Council when the Zionist occupation forces

escalated their terrorist activities against the Palestinian people to the extent of physical liquidation, when

they stepped up their practices for the complete appropriation of the Holy City and when the Knesset prom¬

ulgated the fundamental law annexing Al-Quds and proclaiming it the eternal capital of Israel. In a state¬

ment, the OIC explained «that this measure was the most dangerous stage in the escalation of Zionist agres¬

sion against Arab Palestine and all its Holy places as well as against international law. It is also an act of de¬

fiance and provocation against two billion Muslims and Christians throughout the world and against all the

States committed to the U.N. Charter; this imposes on them all, the responsibility of meeting the challenge

in a determined bid which will put an end to aggression, deter the aggressor and help justice».

A clear perception of the various dimensions of the problem of Al-Quds is the first step towards the

development of an effective response to the Zionist challenge which faces all States in the world. Such

perception is indeed essential for countering the propensity of the Zionist movement to re-write the history

of Al-Quds and Palestine as it pleases, to formulate special concepts on the so-called «Promised Land», to

draw a picture of Al-Quds and Palestine’s future inspired by Zionist ambitions and to put forth false pseudo¬

scientific allegations regarding the Jews’ special relationship with Palestine.

These Zionist allegations are one of the aspects of the intellectual conflict entailed by the Arab-Zionist

conflict. This conflict broke out between the Arab people of Palestine and the Arab Nation, on the one

hand, and the Zionist movement which is a European colonization movement, on the other, and took the

form of a civilizational conflict with political, military, social, economic, cultural and intellectual implica¬

tions.

As an example of Zionist allegations in this intellectual conflict, we cite the so-called alternation, over

ancient times, of the State of Israel, which was established in 1948, on the land of Palestine; the assertion is

an attempt to link Israel to the ancient history of Palestine. David Ben Gourion resorted to the editing of a

book he called «The Jews in their homeland» wherein Zionist writers depicted a continuous history of the

Jews in Palestine which amounted to nothing more than the history of the Jews among the Palestinian peo¬

ple and consequently the history of the people of Palestine. The purpose of Ben Gourion - who was himself a

colonialist settler and a reluctant alien in Palestine - was to write a Zionist history of Palestine in order to

keep away the concept of Zionist colonialism from the Zionist movement.

We also refer to the Zionist allegation which claims exclusive connection of Al-Quds to the Jews as the

capital of their State, built by King David. This allegation strides over centuries of the history of Al-Quds

before the coming of David, and more centuries after the end of his dynasty’s rule, and also ignores the facts

that David and his dynasty were of the Hebrew lineage which belonged to the Arab race and which inte¬

grated itself into the people of Palestine and that the Prophets of the sons of Israel were the Prophets of God, believed in by all believers in God, whether Jews, Christians or Muslims.

The Zionist movement advanced further allegations with the aim of deceiving world public opinion on the question of Al-Quds and the question of Palestine in general. They took advantage of the ignorance of large sections of world peoples on the details of the Zionist invasion of Palestine.

22

When she was Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir arrogantly answered those who questioned her on

the rights of the people of Palestine by saying: «Where is the people of Palestine? I cannot see it». This is an

attempt to deny the existence of a people as a whole and to press the Zionist point that the Zionist move¬

ment wanted to bring a people without a homeland, to a homeland without a people.

The truth is that the land of Palestine had always been populated by the people of Palestine since the

most ancient times and that the target of the Zionist movement’s invasion was Palestine and the people of

Palestine. It is also an established fact that Jews throughout the world belong to their respective homelands.

Similarly, the Zionist leaders, in an attempt to cover up the nature of their colonialist invasions, have

brazenly called the terrorist operations carried out by some of their terrorist organizations against their

British allies occupying Palestine resistance operations*. They have also named their war against the peo¬

ple of Palestine «a war of liberation* and celebrated a so-called «Independence Day». However, the facts

reveal the true nature of the racist-settler-colonialist-zionist movement and its alliance with western col¬ onialism from the first days of its existence.

Certain Zionist writers have blatantly ignored the history of Palestine extending over 19 centuries from

the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus the Roman in the year 70 A.D. and the defeat of the Barkuba revolt by

Hadrian in the year 135 A.D. until the creation of the Zionist State in 1948. The truth of the matter is that

the history of Palestine throughout these centuries was thriving with the achievements of the people of

Palestine and that the uprising of the Jews of Palestine against Roman rule was a part of the uprising of the

people of Palestine against the prevalent oppression of that period'-1'1.

In short, the question of Al-Quds is the question of a Holy City which suffers, with the rest of the home¬ land, an alien occupation and resists this occupation heroically.

Al-Quds has always been proud of its contribution to mankind and the place it has had throughout the

centuries in the hearts of millions of faithful. The people of Palestine who have built and protected Al-Quds

and cared for its sanctuaries, making great sacrifices in the process, are proud of the role they have per¬

formed in the service of the faithful and in spreading the moral message of the revealed religions. Palestine

takes pride in being, through Al-Quds and other Holy Places, the bridge that links Egypt and the Arab Mag-

rib to Al-Sham (Greater Syria), Iraq and the Arab Peninsula. Being a part of Al-Sham in the heart of the

Arab Nation, it has deserved, together with the rest of the nation, history’s testimony to the outstanding

contribution it has made to the spiritual and intellectual progress of mankind as the cradle of the heavenly message which has reached extensive parts of the world'-2-1.

Al-Quds, the people and indeed the whole territory of Palestine are today suffering from oppressive

occupation. This occupation has wreaked havoc in Al-Quds and Palestine. It has left no aspect of life there

unharmed, and has enacted laws which transformed the status of the City and of the country in defiance of

international legality. It has interfered with the judicial system, with education, services and public utilities,

with adverse results. It has exercised the ugliest forms.of persecution and oppression against the owners of

the country confiscating their lands and private properties, destroying their houses and practising all soph¬

isticated forms of economic pressure and terrorism, imposing Zionist settlements and exerting every effort to dislodge the population of the country(3).

Al-Quds, together with the people and the whole territory of Palestine, is today putting up a heroic re¬

sistance against this oppressive occupation. The people of Palestine have exercised their legitimate right to

fighting against occupation by launching their armed revolution in order to abolish injustice, protect their

sanctuaries and liberate their homeland, so that just peace and the olive branch may prevail. This Revolu¬

tion has represented for the people of Palestine a revival in all walks of life and for the rest of the world, a symbol of liberation.

The true understanding of the question of Al-Quds requires the realization of the tight links between

three inseparable elements, i.e. the City of Al-Quds, the People of Palestine and Palestine. We cannot con¬

sider Al-Quds as a separate entity from the Palestinian people and Palestine as a whole, for Al-Quds is the

heart of Palestine and the people of Palestine is the blood of life for both. Moreover, this three-part entity

23

must be linked to the area of which it forms a part. Indeed, Palestine is but part of the Fertile Crescent, Al- Sham and the Arab Homeland.

The clear perception of the question of Al-Quds requires the realization of an important fact in the his¬

tory of Palestine. Palestine - and Al-Quds as a part of it - have been through the centuries the homeland of

the people of Palestine who have uninterruptedly lived on the land of Palestine. Al-Quds and Palestine, in

general, through their contribution to civilization and by virtue of their sanctity, have become a pole of

attraction, a qiblah and a destination of pilgrimage for believers in the revealed religions. Because of their

position, they have become the preferred target of invaders.

The history of Palestine has, throughout the ages, made a clear distinction between the people of Pales¬

tine who have built their homeland there, and the covetous conquerors whose waves invaded the country

and then pulled back completely. It makes a clear distinction between the invaders who attacked Palestine

to fulfil their ambitions under religious cover and the pilgrims who came to Palestine to fulfil a religious

aspiration and interacted with the region’s civilization.

Al-Quds these days is experiencing both the hardship of occupation and the resistance against it. As the

people of Palestine are holding out against the Zionist invasion, tension and the Arab-Zionist conflict are

reaching their paroxysm, thus threatening peace and security in the world. And as the world looks towards

Al-Quds and Palestine, they, in turn, aspire to a future of peace and justice, when the liberated Al-Quds is

able once again to play its role, when the people of Palestine regain their rights and resume their civilization-

al contribution and when prosperity and security prevail, thanks to the liberation of Palestine.

The events of the past three decades have clearly indicated the extent of the danger which threatens

world peace and security as a result of the aggressive Zionist policy in the area of the Arab homeland. Suf¬

fice it to recall the tension which prevailed throughout the aggressions of 1956 and 1967, the events of 1970

and the 1973 War. It is clear that this tension will continue with the Zionist occupation of Al-Quds and the

Palestinian territories.

The liberation of Al-Quds and the territory of Palestine is the key to peace in the area and to the future

we are looking forward to. How can we achieve our aims?

The vision of the future is tightly linked to the understanding of the past. «He who knows from where,

knows to where», said one of the philosophers of history. The making of the future is based on the interac¬

tion of the human will with the mainstream of history.

It is therefore essential to understand the historical, religious, cultural, political and legal dimensions

of the question of Al-Quds in order to effectively work for the triumph of just peace and to fully assume

one’s responsibilities.

24

25

CHAPTER II

AL-QUDS AND PALESTINE

THROUGHOUT HISTORY

The study of the history of Al-Quds and Palestine in general, gives us

the true and complete answers to the questions raised by Zionist allega¬

tions as regards both Al-Quds and Palestine. These questions, on which

we shall try to shed some light, may be summed up under three headings:

1. What are the facts about the Arab people of Palestine?

— What are their origins, their characteristics and their cultural con¬

tribution? — What is the place of the Palestinian Jews among them and what is

the Jewish cultural heritage in comparison with that of the Arab

people of Palestine?

2. What are the facts about Al-Quds and its history throughout the ages?

3. How the people of Palestine, under the auspices of Islamic rule, has

guaranteed the freedom of worship for all the faithful in Al-Quds and

how it served and protected the Holy Places.

The history of Al-Quds and Palestine does not start at the beginning of the Age of Writing in Palestine,

i.e. the early third millennium B.C. but goes far beyond it to the pre-historic ages which witnessed the

appearance of the homo sapiens in Palestine. This history is a result of interaction between man in Palestine and the dimensions of time and space.

If we consider the dimension of space which is represented by the Holy Land bearing the name of

«Palestine», we find that this territory is situated in the west of the Asian Continent between latitudes 29.30

and 33.15 north and longitudes 34.15 and 35.40 east. This represents the southern part of A1 Sham (Greater

Syria) which links that country to Egypt, and constitutes the heart of the arab Homeland. Its area is 27,009

Km1 2 3 4 or 10,429 square miles. It comprises a Mediterranean littoral, a mountainous region, a depression and a desert area. Several elements interacted in this part of the world. They are:

1. The strategic position of Palestine between the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe which makes it a link and a centre of interaction between cultures and civilizations.

2. The geographic situation of Palestine and Al-Sham in general where the relief is broken and the environ¬

ment is too compartmentalized to permit the emergence of a strong authority; where lowlands and high¬

lands alternate in close succession from north to south; where the plain is adjacent to the mountain and the desert and where the four seasons follow in succession as they do in the Mediterranean basin in general.

3. Palestine comprises both nomadism and urban habitat which have rendered it a centre of constant in¬

teraction between the nomad bedouins and the city dwellers. This interaction involved both cooperation

and intermittent clashes, a fact that linked the history of Palestine to that of the waves of transformation of the bedouins into inhabitants of cities and villages.

4. The proximity of Palestine to the two most ancient centres of civilization known to mankind: the Sume¬

rian Babylonian civilization in Mesopotamia to the east, and the Egyptian civilization in the Nile Valley

to the south-west. Thus Palestine entered the sphere of civilizations in the area. Palestine was simul¬

taneously influenced from the Mediterranean side by Crete, Greece and Italy and from inland by Persia

and India to the east. As a result, it became part of an ancient international road starting in the Nile delta

and ending at Shatt-Al-Arab with a number of subsidiary roads ending in the Mediterranean^.

The City of Al-Quds was erected on a privileged site in the land of Palestine which made it: the «centre

of the Holy Homeland and the cross-roads of its countries^5). This caused some ancient scholars to consider

it «The centre of the planet on whose surface we live». Al-Quds was built on four hills surrounded by valleys

and a number of villages and cities. Its situation has a strategic and religious importance.

Concerning the dimension of time, we find that the history of Al-Quds and Palestine is continuous and

eventful. This history may be divided into two main parts linked with the Arab renaissance through Islam

during the first century of the Hegira (7th Century A.D.). The choice of this specific event is due to the con¬

siderable influence it had on Al-Quds, Palestine and the Arab region in general. This facilitates the com¬

parison between the period preceding and the period following it. The people of Palestine and the history of

Al-Quds witnessed numerous stages during these two periods. In general, this history was diversified but it maintained its unity.

1. FACTS CONCERNING THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE

A. Origins and characteristics

The characteristics of the people of Palestine appeared in pre-historic times, with the emergence of the

ancient homo sapiens on the land of Palestine. Traces of the homo sapiens have been found in a number of

places. Those features appeared with greater evidence as the Palestine people advanced in the civilizational

process through the Paleolithic period, the Misolithic period which lasted nearly six thousand years before

the year 2000 B.C., the Neolithic period which lasted 2000 years and witnessed significant developments in

the fields of agriculture, farming and pottery and the Bronze Age (marked by the discovery of this metal)

which witnessed the two civilizations of-Ghasul and Jazir and the prosperity of Areeha (Jericho), the oldest city in the world(6).

The characteristics of the people of Palestine developed further in the wake of major migrations to

Palestine, which came from the centre and the outermost parts of the Arab Peninsula, bringing the Amorites,

the Canaanites and subsequently the Hebrews and the Aramaeans. Palestine and the Fertile Crescent in

general were areas of demographic attraction linked to the Arabian Peninsula which was a centre of demog¬

raphic rejection. These migrations were known as the «Semitic» or «Arab» migrations. The Canaanite

migration left a great impact and gave its character to the country which has maintained it since the fourth

millenium B.C. Palestine (with parts of Syria and Lebanon) was known as the «Land of Canaan». This was

the first name given to Palestine. The Canaanites remained in Palestine and assimilated subsequent migra¬

tory waves. Palestine was noted for its capacity to absorb such nomadic or semi-nomadic migrants by en¬

couraging them to settle down. The historian Philip Hitti cites the Hebrews as an example of this phe¬ nomenon:

«The people known under this name came as wanderers, adventurers, mercenaries and soldiers with¬

out commitment. They gradually settled among the population who had reached a higher degree of civiliza¬

tion. They learned from them the crafts of ploughing the soil, building houses, other peaceful arts and most

importantly reading and writing. They adopted the Canaanite language and inherited the major aspects of the Canaanite civilization»(7).

Groups from other peoples who had passed through or near the country like the Hittites and the Hur-

rians became blended in the melting-pot of the people of Palestine, or settled there like the Philistines who

gave their name to the Land of Canaan. According to certain historians, all these ethnic groups were of Indo-

European origin. Were also fused with the people of Palestine, other groups from the peoples Who ruled the

country including Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines who remained in Palestine and made it their homeland.

The features of the people of Palestine were completed, their identity defined and their personality

crystallized in the wake of the Arab Islamic conquest of Palestine in the first century of the Hegira (7th Cen¬

tury A.D.). Palestine, together with the Arab region in general, entered a new era of its history, which was

not unrelated to the previous periods, but was characterized by a significant evolution which led the country

to maturity and crystallization. During that century, Palestine witnessed, with the rest of the region, a major

transformation. The Arab Islamic conquest brought over a new wave of Arabs from the Arab Peninsula,

27

and Arabic became the language of the people of Palestine. The passage from Aramaic to Arabic was not

difficult since both languages had the same origin. A large number of the population embraced Islam, first

in the cities and later in the villages. The term «Arab» appeared repeatedly in the successive stages of the

history of Palestine with the migrations from the Arabian Peninsula. Palestine remained Arab throughout

the intervening periods of history although it faced repeated colonizing invasions®.

B. Their Civilizational Contribution

Throughout the centuries, the people of Palestine built their civilization which forms a part of the re¬

gion’s civilization. They contributed to the enrichment of human heritage, progressed with the civilizational process and interacted with other cultures.

As we have previously indicated, the people of Palestine developed the Natuf, Ghasul and Jazir civi¬

lizations during the pre-historic era and built Areeha and other cities. Moreover the Canaanite people of

Palestine had built, since early historic times in Palestine - the land of a Canaan - a sophisticated civilization

which so developed agriculture that the country became noted for its bounties and fruits and known as the

«country of milk and honey». Industry was developed there on a large scale; commerce thrived; the first

alphabet was invented, temples were built and the Canaanite religion spread widely. Ramaining vestiges

point to the strong relations which existed between the people of Palestine and the neighbouring peoples of the Nile Valley, the rest of Syria and Mesopotamia.

When the Philistines came, they contributed to this civilization by builistines came, they contributed to

this civilization by building their five cities on the coast which was then named Philistia; by teaching the

melting of iron and by encouraging distant travel. They were soon integrated into the Canaanite people of

Palestine whose civilization they had adopted. The same process took place with the Hebrews who fol¬

lowed, during the first phases of their settlement, the civilizational pattern of the area, represented by the

Canaanites. They adopted Canaan’s language and alphabet and abandoned their ancient Semitic dialect for

the dialect of the people of Palestine. From these, they learnt agriculture and changed their way of life from

nomadism to sedentarism. They learnt the Canaanites’ rites and art, inter-married with them and adopted

some of their customs; they contributed to this civilization in an important field, i.e. the spiritual field. This

contribution was evident in the Old Testament which preserved the history of the Hebraic preceptors and

the Prophets of Israel. Thus the Hebrews underwent the same process as the other peoples and groups who

made Palestine their homeland and were thoroughly blended in the melting-pot of its people. ;

The people of Palestine continued to live their civilization during the Persian rule of their country,

which lasted over two centuries (586-332 B.C.), while going through the experience of interaction with the

Persian civilization. It may be said, however, that they maintained their own civilization as Aramaic re¬

mained the language of commerce, social intercourse and conversation alongside Persian which was the

official language. This civilization continued to be based on the Semitic-Arab elements-where the Ara¬

maean - Canaanite component was predominant - with the appearance of certain Persian influences.

At the beginning of the Greek rule in Palestine (332-64 B .C.), the people of Palestine went through the

Alexander experiment of promoting interaction between the Greek and the eastern civilizations through I

Drawings on the tomb of

Khunum Hutiba 11 dat¬

ing bade from the reign of

Senocert

11. The drawings repre¬

sent a group ■ of

Canaanites with the

Equptian writer Nefer

Hutba preceding them.

The group, which comes

from South Palestine, is

led by the Canaanite

Sheikh Abshah.

(Courtesy of william F.

Ul-bricht in «Palestine

Monuments»

28

A map showing the location of Palestine in the Arab World.

the fusion of Greek and eastern ideas and institutions. The Greek rule in Palestine whether Ptolemaic or

Seleucid, sought to spread hellensim. During the «Hellenistic era», the Greek rulers focussed on the build¬

ing of cities to serve as centres of Greek culture. Their inhabitants were primarily Greek soldiers. These in¬

termarried with the local inhabitants and, with the passage of time, they were joined by half-breed and auto¬

chthonous inhabitants who adopted the superficial aspects of hellenism. The spread of hellenism varied

from an area to the other. Local intellectuals such as «Antiochus the Rationalist» and the poet «Meleagros»

contributed to the enrichment of this culture. Yet Aramaic remained the prevalent language of the people

who also maintained their Canaanite way of life. Rural inhabitants in particular maintained their language,

their customs and their traditions. During this period of cultural interaction with the Greeks, the Canaanite

civilization managed to maintain its position through the «give and take* operation. Bristid sums up the re¬

sult of the Greek influence on the country by saying: «This influence was not evenly spread in all parts of the

country but was virtually limited to the cities. It did not affect the inhabitants of small towns and villages,

who preferred to keep to their old Semitic customs, to speak the language of their ancestors and to preserve

their traditions and ideas.(9)

The situation remained unchanged during the Roman rule of Palestine (64 B.C. - 640 A.D.), whichhad

adopted the Hellenic culture. The people of Palestine lived then the great event of the coming of the Christ -

peace be upon him - who called for the love of God and the love of mankind. Palestine and Syria as a whole

29

entered, with the advent of the 4th Century A.D., new civilizational stage, i.e. the Byzantine Era, which

saw the unity of Christianity with pagan hellenism, and the conversion of most of the Jews to Christianity.

The Pagans also embraced the new religion. The people of Palestine and the Syrians in general were never

known, as Philip Hitti put it, «to have lost their national character, neglected their language or religion or

sincerely adopted the Roman or the Greek way of life. The Hellenistic civilization was never more than a

superficial coating which only affected the elite of city dwellers. As for the majority of the population, they

considered the rulers as aliens. This aversion between the governed and the governing intensified under the

pretext of improper rule and excessive taxation. It is generally believed that the Syrians of the 7th Century

considered the Muslim Arabs closer to them in terms of ethicity, language and perhaps religion than their

hated Byzantine rulers.

Following the Arab-Islamic conquest in the year

638 A.D., the people of Palestine participated in

the building of the Arab-Islamic civilization which

became resplendent during subsequent centuries.

The Arabic language was the neans of expression

in this civilization whose philosophy of life was

governed by Islam. Al-Quds has since house one of

the most beautiful wonders to be built under the au¬

spices of Islamic civilization and one of the latter’s

most magnificent symbols, i.e. Al-Aqsa Mosque

built on a site which had been sacred from time im¬

memorial. This fact has made some people consider

the Mosque as one of the holiest places on earth.

Islamic Civilization assimilated the achievements of

the preceding civilizations in the region. It was

characterized by a blossoming of poetry, religious

sciences, philosophy, architecture, agriculture, in¬

dustry, commerce and sciences including medicine,

engineering, astronomy, mathematics and music.

The people of Palestine made an appreciable con¬

tribution to this expansion. They embraced Islam

during the Abbasid period and Arabic became then

the prevailing language.

The fact that the people of Palestine fused in the Arab-Islamic crucible, unlike its behaviour during

previous conquests, is due to many reasons. There is, however, one reason that cannot be overlooked, i.e. the element of violence as all those who had entered Al-Quds and Palestine had used the sword against their

population. The Arab-Islamic conquest alone was carried out peacefully. It was the only conquest in whose

crucible Palestine was thoroughly blended, including those Philistines who maintained their Judaism and

Christianity but fused culturally with Arabism and Islam, like the other sections of the people of Palestine,

who embraced Islam. Palestine remained a part of the Arab State whose capital moved to Baghdad during

the Abbasid era. Upon the institution of the State of Ahmad Ibn Tulun in Egypt during the 11th Century

A.D., Palestine became part of it. It came later under the rule of the Akhshidids who succeeded to theTulu-

nids and were followed by the Fatimids. Palestine was affected by the weakening of the Arab-Islamic State

during the 11th Century A.D. This was due to several factors, particularly the loss of a cantral government,

the decadence of the rulers, the disruption in economic relations, extravagance and snobbery. As in the case of other civilizations, such weakness brought about the decline of the Arab-Islamic civilization.

During that period, European invasions started in the area, focussing on Palestine at the end of the 11th Century A.D. This occurred after the declaration of Pope Urban II in 1095 A.D., of what was to be known

in the West as the Crusades. The main motives behind this invasion were material and economic considera¬

tions relating in part to the prevailing situation in Europe, and religion was used as a means of mobilization.

Canaanite Family from Jerichs, 2000 B.C. (Courtesy of M.A. Al-Amiri in «Arab Al- Quds»

30

These European wars lasted almost two centuries. History recorded the violence of the invaders against the

local population. Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi succeeded in liberating Al-Quds after the decisive battle of Hit-

tin in the year 583 of the Hegira (1187 A. D.), thus setting a magnificent example of heroism and high moral

values. Sultan Pipers, Sultan Kalawan and his son Al-Ashraf drove away the remaining Europeans from

Palestine. During the two centuries, the country went through an experience of civilizational contacts(11). It

was noticed that these Europeans were « disappointing in terms of intellectual and cultural contributions*.

They had greater civilizational impact in the West than in the East. They were influenced by Arab-Islamic

civilization and acquainted themselves with its various aspects. In his book A1 Ftibar", Usamah IbnMunqidh

has left us a description of the links he witnessed between them and the local population. Concurrently with

the European invasion, Palestine was subjected to the Mongol invasion which was halted by the victory of

Qutuz and Biburs in the decisive battle of Ayn Jalut in 1260 A.D. After these two invasions, Palestine re¬

mained a part of the Arab-Islamic State governed by the Memlukes and, subsequently, a part of the Otto¬

man Empire as of the year 1516. It was attacked by Napoleon Banoparte after his occupation of Egypt but

the attack was repelled at the gates of Akka (Acre) at the end of the 18th Century. Palestine remained under

Ottoman Islamic rule until the British occupation in 1919 during the First World War. In the 19th Century,

the country took part in the modern Arab revival and started to oppose the danger of the Zionist invasion

which began at the end of that century. If we understand the dimension of time in Palestine, and the history of the people of Palestine, we can

give a specific answer to the question raised on the characteristics and identity of these people.

The history of the people of Palestine has been uninterrupted since pre-historic times.

It forms a part of the history of Syria and of

the area currently known as the Arab Home¬

land. The characteristies of the people of Palestine became more distinct in the historic

age as a people with Canaanite features and of

Arab origin living in the land of Palestine

which was known as the Land of Canaan.

Most of these people spoke the Canaanian

language then Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic

all of which were «Semitic» languages stem-

ming-as Brockelmann believes-from a parent

language which is very close to classical Ara¬

bic. Groups from other peoples, who passed

through Palestine, were integrated into this

people. They acquired its character, assimi¬

lated its civilization and contributed to it.

Among the people of Palestine, ever since the

pre-historic age, were Arab tribes clasely

linked to the Arab peninsula in addition to the

Canaanites, the Amorites and the Aramaeans

who originally came from the Arab Peninsu¬

la, and the Hebrews who came from southern

Iraq. It is clear that Palestine represented a

centre of attraction for the Arabs of the Arab

Peninsula, and the Arabism of Palestine was

completed during the first century of the

Hegira as a continuation of its Canaanite

character which prevailed in the first part of the history of Palestine. The people of Pales¬

tine, with its Muslims, Christians and Jews,

adopted Arabism and contributed to the

Arab-Islamic civilization.

31

Interior view of the Dome of the Rock

32

__

-

Dome of the Chain (Qubbat Al-Silsilah) in the courtyard of the Holy Enclosure (A1 Haram Al-Sharif).

C. The Jews and their place within the People of Palestine:

We are now giving a specific answer to the question raised on the place of the Hebrews, the Israelites

and the Jews who lived on the land of Palestine, within the people of Palestine. Hebrews are the sons of Abra¬

ham, and this name has a bedouin connotation and includes various Arab tribes, among them the tribe of

Abraham. Israelites are the sons of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, who was known as «Israel». They

were tribes who migrated from Egypt to the land of Canaan at the end of the 13th century B.C. under the

leadership of Moses and instituted two kingdoms, i.e. the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom

of Judea in the south. Both Kingdoms were destroyed and the Kingdom of Judea, from which the Jews de¬

rive their name, was reinstituted for a limited period. Each one of the Judean men returning from captivity

bore this name, which was also borne by people from other stocks who adopted the Jewish religion. Judah

was originally the name of one of Jacob’s sons.

Those Israelites set up a Kingdom on part of Palestine after taking the idea of monarchy from the

Canaanites. The Kingdom was then split into two Kingdoms which did not live long. The sons of Israel

adopted the Canaanites’ civilization. They learned their language and adopted their rites, customs and way of

life. They also contributed to this civilization in the spiritual field by writing the «01d Testaments A number

of them were deported by Nabuchodonosor, who destroyed Al-Quds in the year 586 B.C. Some Jews re¬

turned from Babylonian captivity at the beginning of the Persian rule in Palestine. Judaism expanded in

Palestine under Greek rule when the Maccabean Jews, after the victory of their revolution, forced the Edo¬

mites of southern Palestine to become Jewish and to be circumcised. This happened around the year 126

B.C. under the rule of Hirkanos the First. They also forced the Arab Etorites of Upper Gallilee to become

Jews and adopt circumcision. When Christianity appeared and gradually expanded in Palestine under the

Roman rule, Judaism started to lose ground. The Jewish community in Palestine was reduced to a minority

33

due to the loss of a large number of its members in the revolutions of 66 and 132 A.D. and to the conversion

of some Jews to Christianity. During the Byzantine rule which adopted the Christian religion, the Jewish

community dwindled to its lowest ebb and Palestine assumed a Christian character as the vast majority of its

inhabitants, including most of the Jews, became Christians.

When Palestine became part of the Arab Islamic State, it perfected its Arab identity during the Second Cen¬

tury of the Hegira and Islam became the religion of the majority of its people. Some groups of this people

remained Christian or Jewish. It is therefore clear that certain Muslims among the people of Palestine de¬

scended from ancestors the majority of whom were Christians and before then, Jews(12). Such ancestors lived

in the Land of Palestine and some of them came originally from the Arabian Peninsula.

The Jews of Palestine are part of the people of Palestine and their history is encompassed by the history of

the people of Palestine. They are different from the European Jews in whose circles the Zionist movement

emerged and who are mostly of Khazari origin(13). We therefore can confidently affirm that the Jewish herit¬

age in Palestine is part of the heritage of the people of Palestine just like the Christian heritage, the Islamic

heritage and, before them, the Canaanite heritage.

The Zionist allegations that the Jewish heritage in Palestine belongs to Zionism must not drive some of us to

reject such heritage. It may be noted here that Islamic historians who wrote about the history of Israelites in

Palestine adopted the right outlook in this regard. It should also be noted that the people of Palestine

adopted, preserved and adhered to this heritage. Muslims and Christians used to give their children the

names of the Prophets of Israel and visit the graves of these Prophets. It may further be pointed out that reli¬

gious belief - be it Islamic or Christian - is consonant with adherence to this heritage since it holds that the

Prophets of Israel are among those who committed themselves to the will of Almighty God and are among

God’s prophets and Apostles.

2. Facts about the history of Al-Quds

throughout the ages

Al-Quds has been linked to the Arab people of Palestine from time immemorial. Man has lived there

since pre-historic ages. Traces of him have been discovered and date back to the Pleistocene and Paleolithic

periods. The climate settled as it is today during the Mesolithic Age. There are two places in the city, which

are related to this period and sixteen others relating to the Neolithic Age which witnessed the Agrarian

Revolution^14).

Al-Quds first emerged as a city in the early Bronze Age. The Canaanites built it with a group of other

cities on the water-supply route between the north and the south. They chose for it a privileged site on a

plateau near the «Jihun» Spring. Its construction dates back from the 4th Millenium B.C. and served both

defensive and religious purposes. They erected in it a temple for their supreme deity «Salem». The King of

Jerusalem was the Priest of the Supreme deity. Hence the holy character of the City, which continued

thereafter for other reasons^15).

Al-Quds was first known by the name of «Salem»,the founding father or the Supreme God. Like other

Canaanite cities, it became a Kingdom City and some of its Kings were «Qudum Salim», «Malaky Sadiq»,

«Adoni Sadiq», «Adoni Baziq». It was first mentioned in the Egyptian holy texts of the 18th and 19th Cen¬

turies B.C. under the name Yurushalim, which means, most probably, the «City of Salem».

Al-Quds is also mentioned in the 14th Century B.C., according to the tablets of Tell A1 Amarna, under

the name Yurusalem and, in Assyrian engravings, as Urusalimo. The earliest name in the Old Testament is

«Shalim». It is mentioned in the Genesis in connection with the arrival of Abraham in the land of the

Canaanites, when the kings came out to greet him. Among them was Sadiq, King of Shalim. It is also men¬

tioned in the book of Joshua under the name Urshalim whose King was then Adoni Sadiq and in the book of

the Judges when the Israelites fought against the Canaanites. It is further mentioned in the book of the

Judges under the name «Jebus», in relation to the Arab Jebuseans living there. The Old Testament also

gives the name of «Sion» which originally referred to a district of the Jebusean City housing the castle cap¬

tured by David when he conquered the city from the Jebuseans. It was not long before he called that part

«the City of David», a name which was given, with the passage of time, to the city as a whole. The city was

34

also known as« Ari’el» in the book of Isaiah. The rocky hill on which Solomon built the temple was known as

«Moriah». This mention is made in the Chronicles of the Second Day. In spite of the multiplicity of names,

the name Urshalim was the most commonly used from the conquest of the city by David to the middle of the

Second Century A.D. when the Roman Emperor Aelius Hadrianus gave it his first name after rebuilding it,

and it was then known as Aelia. It was Hadrian who destroyed the city of Urshalim in the year 135 A.D.

after its previous destruction by Titus in the year 70 A.D. The name of Aelia prevailed for nearly two cen¬

turies until Emperor Constantine restored the name of Urshalim. Nevertheless, the name of Aelia re¬

mained in use until the Arab Islamic conquest.

After the conquest, the City became known as «Bayt Al-Maqdis» (The Holy House). This name had such

variants as «A1 Bayt Al-Muqaddas», «A1-Quds Al-Sharif» and «A1-Madinah Al-Muqaddasah». It was also

called «Dar Al-Salam» (The House of Peace), «Madinat Al-Salam» (The City of Peace) and «Qaryat Al-

Salam» (The Village of Peace)(16).

It is clear that the multiplicity of names given to Al-Quds is linked to the City’s long and eventful history

and to its special importance. All these names, with the exception of Aelia, are Canaanite Arab names av-

ing virtually the same meaning, for Ursalem, Urshalim and Al-Quds are one and the same thing. Even the

Roman name Aelia was arabicized by the people of Palestine and its region just as they arabicized the name

of Neapolis and others. These names were associated, in the minds of people, with the holiness of the City as a Sacred House.

Over the centuries which have elapsed since the building of «Ursalem», the holy city - which is the Heart of

Palestine - has passed through all the phases of Palestine’s history. While recalling its history, we may stop at

the salient facts therein, relate them briefly and string them into a chaplet which brings out the unity of this

history.

□ The background situation is that the City was founded and named by the Canaanite Arab people during a

remote period in the history of man. This people erected in it a house of worship where the name of God was

glorified and which became a qiblah and a place of pilgrimage. This character of the City continued with the

succession of divine messages and the passage of the people of Palestine and its region from the Canaanite

religion to Judaism then to Christianity then to Islam.

□ Abraham (Peace be upon him) stopped in the region of Al-Quds and was welcomed by «Banu Hith»,

the owners of of the land. The Father of the Prophets chose Palestine as his homeland. He thus became,

with his family, a part of the people of Palestine. It is interesting to note the attitude of Palestinians through¬

out the ages and particularly during the Islamic period, towards this fact which they did not fail to bring out.

As an instance of this, we cite the work of Al-Hanbali, entitled «A1-Uns Al-Jalil». After relating the depar¬

ture of Abraham «from his country into the essence of God to preserve his faith», Al-Hanbali wrote: - «God

revealed to him: go to Hebra and so he did... Shortly thereafter, he entered the cavern of Hebron and a

voice called out to him: «Ibrahim, greet the remains of your father Adam.» When Hagar gave him a son, he

called him Ismail (Ishmael), i.e. «Obedient to God». Ibrahim established close ties between Palestine, Hi-

jaz, Al-Quds and Makkah «and God sent Ismail to the tribes of Yemen and the Amalekites. Ismail gave his

daughter in marriage to his brother’s son, A1 Iss Bin Ishaq (Esau in the language of translation of the

Torah)», «and when Sara died after Hagar’s death, Ibrahim Al-Khalil (Peace be upon him) married a

Canaanite woman who gave him six sons, Yaqshan, Zamran, Madan, Madyan, Yashuq and Sharkh. He

then married another woman who gave him five sons: Ibrahim had, in all, thirteen sons including Ismail and

Ishaq. Ismail was his eldest son. He preferred the land of Hijaz while Ishaq preferred the land of Al-Sham.

His other sons were scattered throughout the countries and God alone knows what happened in truth»(17).

We find this view expressed by A1 Masoudi and others and by sons of the people of Palestine who considered

Abraham as one of their ancestors. We underline this attitude while pointing out the arguments of certain

modern writers in discussing Zionist allegations that God had promised Abraham He would give his descen¬

dants the Land of Palestine. These writers discoursed on Abraham’s life away from home but that exile did

not last long as Abraham soon became one of the local inhabitants. Similarly, they looked at the Hebrews as

though they had not become a part of the people of Palestine and dealt with the Jewish heritage as though it

were not a part of the heritage of the people of Palestine.

35

□ The Canaanite civilization thrived in Palestine and Al-Quds was its most important centre. The area of

the city in the Second Millenium B.C. was about 40 dunums. The Jebuseans surrounded their city with a

wall. When Abraham went there in 1900 B.C., it was a full-fledged City with a royal regime, a religious

hierarchy and a holy centre. The Hebrews had been influenced by the Canaanean civilization and had

assimilated it.

□ Jebus was a flourishing city when the Israelites led by Joshua entered it circa 150 B.C. The Torah refers

to the City when it says that an Israelite, his wife and his servant were travelling when they were overtaken

by darkness «and as they were near Jebus, the servant saidtohis master: «let us make for the city of the Jebu¬

seans and stay overnight there» and his master replied: «do not make for an alien city where no Israelites are

to be found».

□ David occupied the city which was then called Jebus in the 11th Century B.C. He was right in choosing it

as the capital of his Kingdom for it was fortified and easy to defend. Moreover, it was situated away from the

tribal centres and controlled a major road. David, the warrior, was also known for other achievements in¬

cluding the castle he had erected in Al-Quds and which had been built by masons from Tyr sent to him by his

Phoenician friend King Hiram. His achievements also include his poems. The «Psalms» have been attri¬

buted to him. His son Solomon inherited the throne after his death and ruled for 30 years. He built atemple,

fortifications and military barracks. His Kingdom had sworn allegiance to Egypt. His history intermingled

with legend. The Kingdom was split under his successor into two Kingdoms, i.e. the Kingdom of Israel and

the Kingdom of Judea. The city, which was then known as Urshalim, remained the capital of Judea. Neither

Kingdom lasted long; the Kingdom of Israel was defeated by Sargon II, King of Assyria, in the year 722

B.C., while the Kingdom of Judea came to an end at the hands of Nabuchodonosor the Chaldean King of

Babylon, in the year 586 B.C. Al-Quds was destroyed and the notables of the country were taken prisoner

and deported to Babylon. It should be noted at this point that the political character of Palestine remained

unchanged, during the existence of the two Kingdoms and after their disappearance, with regard to the mul¬

tiplicity of rulers and the interaction with Egypt in the south and Syria in the north. The Arab Jebuseans

continued to live in their holy city. The Old Testament sometimes refers to them as the Ismailites. They in¬

teracted with the Hebrew migrations which they absorbed.

□ Al-Quds and Palestine witnessed, from the 10th Century B.C. to the Arab Islamic conquest, the rule of

a series of powers and empires. They were ruled successively by the Egyptians under Sheshonk, the Assy¬

rians, the Chaldeans, the Persians, the Greeks (Ptolemaic and Seleucids), the Romans and the Byzantines.

These periods were crowded with events which revealed the adaptability of the people of Palestine and its abil¬

ity to combine authenticity with innovation, by maintaining its identity and interacting with other civiliza-

tional experiments.

□ Al-Quds witnessed, during the Persian rule, the return from captivity in Babylon of a number of Jews.

During the reign of Darius, the temple was rebuilt by the State in 515 B .C. after many difficulties. Under the

rule of Artaxerxes (465-424 B.C.), two more groups of Jews returned from captivity under the leadership of

Nehemiah and Ezra who proclaimed the need to divorce non-Jewish women and to consider their children

of such unions illegitimate.

□ Al-Quds lived under Ptolemaic Greek rule in an atmosphere of tolerance. Under the reign of

Ptolemeus Philadelphius, who was fond of learning, the Torah was translated into Greek by seventy Jewish

scholars he had invited to Egypt for this purpose. The Ptolemaic rulers attempted to spread Greek civiliza¬

tion in Al-Quds and Palestine. The Seleucids’ enthusiasm for this mission was more in harmony with their

traditional policy which considered hellenism a common denominator uniting all citizens in their empire.

Antiochus went as far as to impose the worship of Olympian Zeus on the population. These associated Zeus

with the personage of Baal, their own deity, dressed him in semi-Arabian clothes, ascribed to him some of

their qualities and installed him in temples similar to theirs. Then opposition broke out among some of them

who believed in Judaism. Antiochus took possession of Al-Quds and decreed the abolition of the Jewish re¬

ligion. This led to the spreading of the Maccabean Revolution which started on religious grounds and de¬

veloped into a political revolution against both the government forces and the Jewish followers of Hellenic

36

culture. The Revolution succeeded on both fronts as fanaticism dominated the Maccabean Jews; the Edo¬

mites of southern Palestine and the Etorites of Galilee were forced to adopt Judaism. The other alternative

given them by the Maccabeans was total annihilation. This Revolution coincided with the revolutions of Arab

tribes against the seleucid empire which had become very weak(18).

□ Al-Quds came under Roman rule in 64 B.C. as the administrative centre of the province of Judea. The

Edomite dynasty ruled Judea in the name of the Romans as of 37 B.C. Their reign witnessed a momentous

event i.e. the birth of Jesus (peace be upon him) and the emergence of Christianity. Al-Quds witnessed the

Apostle of Peace calling for the love of God and the love of one’s fellow men and urging, through his teachings,

the unity of mankind and the service of man instead of exaggeration in alien rites. The new religion spread

among a number of Jewish Palestinian peasants and permeated gradually among all the population of Pales¬

tine. From Al-Quds it spread to every corner of the Roman Empire.

□ Al-Quds also witnessed, during this period, the Revolution of the Pharisian Jews against the Romans in

the year 66 B .C. It was an expression of their rejection of the rulers’ attempts to impose hellenism on them.

The revolution lasted four years and had religious and social causes. Al-Quds was emptied of its Jewish

population as a result of Titus’s repression of the Revolution. The rest of the Jews concentrated in the coas¬

tal areas of Palestine. Judaism declined as a religion particularly with the propagation of Christianity. The

Jews of Palestine revolted again in the reign of Emperor Hardian (117-138 A.D.) under the leadership of

Bar Kukhba in 132 A.D. Some of them had returned to Al-Quds but Hardian quashed the rebellion in 135

A.D. He destroyed Al-Quds, rebuilt it, renamed it Aelia Capitolana and called the country Syrian

Palestine(19).

□ Al-Quds flourished during the Byzantine era which began with the conversion of Emperor Constantine

to Christianity in 312 A.D. and his building a capital for his empire on the site of ancient Byzantium in 330

A.D. Following the visit of his mother Helena to Al-Quds, the Basilica of the Resurrection was built there and

the Basilica of the Nativity was built in Bayt Lahm (Bethlehem). Soon the building of churches and convents

proliferated in Palestine, Syria and Egypt. Christianity expanded after the repression it had witnessed

under the rule of some Roman Emperors. Congregations appeared during the Fourth Century A.D. and

the church became the largest institution of that period. Al-Quds witnessed various Christians schisms

together with attempts by the Sassanids in Persia to occupy the country at the beginning of the Seventh Cen¬

tury A.D. The Persians were driven away from Al-Quds by Heraclius who brought back the Cross they had

taken away(20). Jewish sources point to the help given to the Persians by the Jews and the so-called Persian

betrayal. They also point to the revenge of Heraclius on the Jews, the punishment he inflicted upon them

and the conversion of a number of them to Christianity. This explains the Church’s request - mentioned in

the safeguard covenant issued by Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khatab - that no Jew may live in Al-Quds.

r*

Safeguard Covenant issued by Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab to the population of the City of Aelia (Al-Quds).

37

□ Arab Muslirils seized Al-Quds in the year 638- A.D. The population set as a condition that the city be

handed over to Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (may God be pleaded with him). Umar received the keys of

the city from Safronius, Patriarch of Al-Quds, and made his famous pledged to the poulation of Aelia in the

year 15 of the Hegira:

He offered them «security for themselves, their wealth, their churches and their crosses, for the sick, the heal¬

thy and the entire religious community of the City; that their churches will not be inhabited or destroyed, that

nothing will be taken from them or their domain, or from the crosses or the possessions of the inhabitants,

that these will not be forced to abandon their religion, that no one of them will be harmed and that no one of

the Jews will inhabit Aelia...»(21).

The covenant was witnessed by the Great Companions of the Prophet (prayer and peace be upon him) Kha-

lid Ibn Al-Walid, Amr Ibn Al’Aas, Abdel Rahman Ibn Auf and Muawiya Ibn Abi Sufyan. Historians note

that the Arab Islamic conquest of Al-Quds, Palestine and Al-Sham in general was so easy that Al-Baladhiri

called it the «easy conquest». Philip Hitti explains this with the following sentence which we have already

quoted: «It is most probable that the Syrians of the 7th Century considered the Arab Muslims closer to them

in terms of ethnicity, language and perhaps religion, that their Byzantine masters(22).

□ Al-Quds began, with the Arab-Islamic conquest, a new phase of its history, wherein it remained

Palestinian and Arab as it was before and continued to be a spiritual centre under the auspices of Islamic

rule. Its history has been a continuous chain for the past thirteen centuries although it was subjected, during

one of them, to European rule.

Al-Quds became one of the centres of Arab-Islamic civilization. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab built a mosque

there and in deference to the Holy Rock, he removed the dust accumulated on it and built on top of it a place

of prayer. Al-Quds was inhabited by a group of followers of God’s Apostle (prayer and peace be upon him)

and other followers visited it for worship and pilgrimage. During the Umayyad era, Abdel Malik Ibn Mar-

wan built the Mosque of the Rock with the revenue of seven years’ land-tax from Egypt. Successive Caliphs

and Princes renovated and decorated the Mosque making it one of the finest monuments on earth. Eminent

scholars lived in Al-Quds and some are believed to be natives of the City, such as Al-Muqaddasi, author of

«The best structure for the knowledge of regions» (Ahsan Al-taqasim fi maarifat al-aqalim). Al-Masjid Al-

Aqsa became a noted university for the seekers of knowledge, serviced by eminent scholars.

Al-Quds suffered a great deal as a result of the European invasion in 1099 A.D. The blood of tens of

thousands of its sons was shed in the Mosque and in the city. When Salah Al-Din liberated it, his conduct

vis-a-vis the Europeans was an example of mercy and tolerance. Stanley Linpowel, in his history of Salah

Al-Din, writes: «Even if the seizure of Jerusalem were the only fact we know about Saladin, this would be

sufficient to prove that Saladin was the most chivalrous and most magnanimous victor of his time, and

maybe of all time»(23\

Salah Al-Din ordered the restoration of Al-Quds’ edifices to their previous condition. He cleansed the

Mosque and the Rock, prayed there and erected a pulpit which had been ordered by Nur Al-Din Mahmud.

He proceeded with the expansion of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa and the restoration of its inscriptions and supplied

it with copies of the Holy Quran and theological books. As a result, the Mosque recovered its beauty, its

splendor and its greatness.

Al-Quds flourished again under the auspices of Islamic rule and saw the emergence of a number of emi¬

nent scholars. The Mamelukes protected it from the Mongols who had invaded Iraq and Syria. The victory

of Al-Thahir Biburs against the Mongols in the battle of Ayn Jalut saved Al-Quds, the rest of Palestine and

Egypt from destruction.

Al-Thahir Biburs and the Mameluke rulers who succeeded him concerned themselves with the rebuild¬

ing of Al-Quds. Al-Thahir Biburs restored the dilapidated parts of the Dome of the Rock and the Dome of

the Chain and its ornaments. His successors built a number of wonderful monuments. Sufism thrived in Al-

Quds during that period. The city was visited by a number of Muslim explorers who described the way of life

of its inhabitants. These explorers included Ibn Batutah, Nasir Khayru and Abdul Ghany Al-Nablus. Ben¬

jamin Al-Taytali, a Jew, also passed through it in the Twelfth Century A.D. Mujir Al-Din Al-Hanbali

wrote a book about Al-Quds entitled «A1-Uns Al-Jalil fi Tarikh Al-Quds wal Khalil» (The close friend for

learning the history of Al-Quds and Al-Khalil (Hebron).

38

Exterior view of the Al-Aqsa Mouque (Al-Aqsa).

Al-Quds became an administrative district of the Vilayet of Damascus under Ottoman rule and, at the

end of this period, it became a province under the direct control of the Sublime Porte. Sultan Sulayman Al-

Qanuni (the Legislator)(1520- 1560)took an interest in rebuilding it. He renovated the Wall, restored the

Fort and reconditioned the Sultan’s pool, the Dome of the Rock and the walls and gates of the sacred pre¬

cinct. He also erected the small building of the Prophet Dawud (David). Some of his successors took an in¬

terest in building various installations in Al-Quds.

It was not long before the City suffered, throughout the following two centuries, the decline of the

Ottoman Empire.

Al-Quds became, last century, one of the centres of contemporary Arab revival. It gave a number of

prominent men who contributed to the Arab intellectual and political awakening. Moreover, colonialist cove¬

tousness for establishing control over it intensified in the wake of the French expedition in the late Eighteenth

Century. Al-Quds had the misfortune of becoming the target of Zionist colonialist invasion. Shortly thereaf¬

ter, i.e. in late 1917, it was occupied. It thus came under British mandate which made it possible for the

Zionist invasion to found «Israel» and take illegal possession of a large part of the City in 1948. In 1967,

Israel occupied East Al-Quds and the City entered a period of suffering and of resistance against occupa¬

tion.

This historical survey of Al-Quds throughout the ages confirms the existence of close ties between the

people of Palestine, on the one hand, and Al-Quds and Palestine, on the other. It clearly indicates that Al-

Quds is the heart of Palestine which is the homeland of its people and has had a continuous history from time

immemorial. It also shows that Al-Quds was the qiblah and place of pilgrimage for the faithful just as it was

the object of greed of the invaders.

39

Saladin Pulpit (Minbar Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi) inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

-—^--—±__ 1 I_M i _^ j ~ ~

3. Freedom of worship under the auspices of Islamic rule:

Historians are unanimous in stating that the people of Palestine was able, under the auspices of Islamic

rule, to secure an atmosphere of admirable tolerance for the faithful in Al-Quds, to guarantee the freedom of

worship in their holy places, and to extend to them protection and hospitality.

We have already seen how the Umar era laid the foundation^ of such tolerance in compliance with the

spirit of tolerance preached by Islam. «There shall be no compulsion in religion. True guidance is now dis¬

tinct fromerror» (Quran). Historians note that the people of Palestine and the population of Al-Quds wel¬

comed the Arab Islamic rule. Most of them were Christians and a minority were Jews. The Jewish Samar¬

itans cooperated with the Muslim Arabs at the time of the conquest. A Jewish diviner writing about the ear¬

ly Islamic era had an angel say to a priest: «Do not be afraid, son of Iahve, the Creator, may He be exalted,

made the Kingdom of Ishmael only to deliver you from this evil» (i.e. Byzantium)(24). The Christians wel¬

comed the Arab Islamic rule and cooperated with the tolerant policy of Muawiyah. An historian member of

the East Syrian Church expressed their feelings by writing: «God has delivered us from the grip of the

Byzantines at the hands of the Arabs. The good we have derived from our deliverance from Byzantine

cruelty and hatred is no small matter*(25).

The Islamic government was anxious to organize the affairs of the various religious communities and

sects. Both the Jewish and the Christian communities developed their own structures. Muslims viewed Al-

Quds as a spiritual centre which was appropriately described by Ata Al-Khurasani in this sentence: «Bayt

Al-Maqdis was built by prophets and inhabited by prophets; by God, there is no span of the hand there that

was not used for prostration in worship by a prophet»(26). The Muslim people of Palestine respected the

other two divine religions on the basis of their faith in God’s books and apostles.

British occupation: General Allenby entering Al-Quds in 1917 41

The Jews remained a very small minority in Palestine as compared with the overall population. Parkes

notes, «that Muslim rulers never refused to allow Jews from foreign countries to enter and live in Palestine».

Indeed, the people of Palestine have always welcomed pilgrims among the faithful and received with open

arms oppressed peaceful people. They, however, differentiated between those and covetous invaders.

Islamic rule permitted Jews to visit Al-Quds and to work and live there. Some of them worked in Al-

Aqsa Mosque making lamps, drinking-bowls, chandeliers and other articles. They were exempted from

head tax together with their children forever'. The Jews of Al-Quds were subjected to cruel suffering during

the European invasion. The Europeans slaughtered many of them when occupying Al-Quds just as they

slaughtered a number of Muslim inhabitants. Historians have recorded that «Salah Al-Din was merciful to

them when he recovered Al-Quds». During the heyday of the Arab Islamic civilization, the Jews of Al-

Quds and Palestine contributed to the enrichment of the Jewish heritage. In his book «The History of the

Jews», Jeraizel wrote: «We are indebted to the Jews of Palestine in the period between the Sixth and the

Tenth Centuries. If we are able to easily read the Torah nowadays and fill our hearts with the most beautiful

prayers, it is to them that we owe this. The coming of Muhammedans injected new life into them»^27). The

number of Jews in Al-Quds dwindled after the European invasion to only two in the year 1267 A.D. Sixty

years later, a small group of dyers settled there. The number of Jews in Al-Quds during the Sixteenth and

the Seventeenth Centuries ranged between 250 and 1500. This occurred when some Jews from Spain sought *

refuge there in 1492 after suffering, with the Muslims, the disaster of Andalusia. When the Italian Rabbi

Obadia Dampier Tivoro visited Al-Quds in 1488 to acquaint himself with the situation of the Jewish com¬

munity, he put on record the following testimony: «Arabs do not oppress Jews in this country. I moved

throughout the country without any of its people standing in my way. They are generous and kind to aliens

particularly those who do not speak their language. They are not alarmed to see Jews gathered together»(28).

An Al-Quds Muslim family had taken care of the shrine of the Prophet David since the beginning of the Otto¬

man period(29). It may be noted that the Jews of Al-Quds and Palestine began to complain of harassment

when the European influence grew in Al-Quds during the Nineteenth Century and a number of European

Christian missionaries came with the purpose of converting the Jews. The London Evangelization Society

was concerned about this matter and sent in 1820 a Swiss missionary who met with strong opposition from

the Al-Quds Jews(30). Conversely, Ottoman documents reyeal that Islamic rule gave the Jews of Palestine the

freedom of worship. As a result, their schools flourished in Tiberias and Safed. A number of oppressed Jews

who had fled Andalusia were permitted to live in the Ottoman Empire including Palestine where they settled

down and integrated into its people.

We do not wish to dwell on the religious tolerance which had prevailed in Palestine since the Arab Isla¬

mic conquest and under the auspices of Islamic rule by describing the life of the Christians among the people

of Palestine because this tolerance is well-known and contained in every page of Palestine history.

Suffice it to say that the people of Palestine, Muslims, Christians and Jews alike, truly represent that spirit of

tolerance which governed their conduct towards their brothers from other sects and towards the pilgrims

among the faithful, who came to Al-Quds. It may be noted that the people of Palestine, with their Muslim

majority, their Christians and their Jews, opposed invaders who coveted their homeland and that they made

a clear distinction between them and peaceful pilgrims. History has dept for us admirable pictures of the re¬

sistance of Palestine against the Europeans who came under the guise of the Cross, just as we witness today

the magnificent resistance of Palestine against Zionist invasion which has exploited the Jewish religion and

distorted its values. The people of Palestine, when the army of Timur Lang, who was a Muslim, threatened

their country, did not flinch from fighting against the Tyrant. Ibn Taymiyah issued a fitwa (religious opin¬

ion) authorizing all Muslims to fight and exhorted them to do so when he noticed the reluctance of some of

them to fight against their Muslim brothers. He answered them with the holy verse: «fight against the

aggressors ...», thus distinguishing between the Muslim believer and the Muslim oppressor(31). While turn¬

ing the pages of history of Al-Quds and Palestine, we may note that the people of Palestine finally carried

the day and drove invaders away. It may also be noted that the land of Palestine was the scene of decisive

battles which heralded the retreat and defeat of invaders, and which took place when the region had reco¬

vered its strength and revived its spiritual power. History has kept for us the names of Hittin which

announced the beginning of the European collapse in 1187, Ayn Jalut which repelled the Mongol invasion

42

in 1260 and Akka whose walls witnessed the retreat of Napolean and his change of mind about the French expedition in 1799.

Having learned all these facts, we may note the extent of the Muslims’s attachment to the Holy City. This will lead us to speak about the importance of Al-Quds to Islam and to Muslims.

II. Importance of Al-Quds to Muslims

Al-Quds has been linked to the revealed religions and become a focal point for the prayers of all the

faithful. It has, however, developed ties with Islam and Muslims through the place it has occupied in Islamic

faith, in Islamic history and in Islamic heritage, since the Prince of the Faithful Umar Ibn Al-Khattab has¬

tened to go there to receive the city from its inhabitants pledging himself before God to protect their posses¬

sions and their churches, to safeguard their rights, and to bring about peace and security for them. From that

day to the Zionist invasion of Al-Quds, the Muslim Ummah has been embracing the Holy City as a mother

embraces her child and feeling for it the pity of a foster-mother for her weaned infant. No other city in the

history of Islam or indeed in the history of all revealed religions has ever won such veneration, respect and

protection as this City. Caliphs, Princes and devout people gave it their attentive care. They built mosques,

prayer rooms, monasteries, hospices, roads, schools and graveyards and bequeathed as religious endow¬

ments surrounding lands. They ornamented, embellished and restored old buildings and erected new ones

thus making Al-Quds a unique gem. They generalized the freedom of worship to all communities without exception and gave theCity and pilgrims security and stability.

Al-Quds has occupied this position in the hearts of Muslims for many reasons:

1. It is the homeland of Ibrahim Al-Khalil, the abode of Prophets, the cradle of revelation and the land

that gave Jesus through the word of God addressed to Mary. Ibn Abbas has said: «A1-Bayt Al-Muqaddas

was built by prophets and inhabited by prophets; there is no human place in it that has not served for the prayer of a propet or the presence of an angel».

2. It is the first of the two qiblahs and the third shrine towards which Muslims turned in praying during

a period of one and a half years after the Holy Prophet’s emigration (Hegira) to Madinah. God chose it for

the Midnight Journey of His Apostle and friend Muhammad, as He said in the Holy Book: «Glory be to

Him who made His servant go by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose precincts We

have blessed that We might show him some of our signs. He is the Hearer, the Seer». The Apostle of God

(prayer and peace be upon him) said, «Journeys are not to be made except to three mosques: this Mosque of

mine, the Sacred Mosque, and Al-Aqsa Mosque».

3. It is the key to the Kaabah and the Prophet’s Tomb. He who holds it controls the Jordan and the

countries beyond it because of the City’s altitude and impregnability. This is why Muslims hastened to close

this gap and protect it so as to ward off a terrible danger.

4. It is the capital of Palestine, the museum of its religious heritage gathered over a period of thirteen

centuries, the link between Arab countries and the source of divine guidance and blessing.

n

43

Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Holy Rock in Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

Muslims took care of Al-Quds and, during the time of their Godfearing rulers, they made no distinc¬

tion between the believers of revealed religions just as they made no distinction between the Prophets of

God. When they make a covenant of protection, they adhere to it and when they make a promise, they keep

it. Bayt Al-Maqdis witnessed a unique spiritual civilization, with a proliferation of mosques, churches and

temples. The name of God rose high. Their hearts were comforted and lifted up. Although there were

periods of distress, they never reached the stage of inquisition tribunals, the burning of temples and the wip¬ ing out of Prophets' vestiges.

Muslims in Al-Quds were guided by Islamic tolerance which was put in concrete form by Umar Ibn Al-

Khattab the day he set foot in the City. He visited the Church of the Resurrection with Patriarch Saphro-

nius. He preferred to pray outside the Church so that Muslims may not attempt to wrest it from the Christ¬

ians if he had prayed inside it. He asked about the Rock and when he arrived there, he personally cleared

the dirt that had accumulated on it. He found heaps of refuse on the Rock, which had been thrown by the

Byzantines to irritate the Israelites. He spread out a robe and started to remove the refuse. Muslims fol¬

lowed suit. He then proceeded to the prayer niche of David, prayed there, then read a surate from the Holy

Quran and prostrated himself in worship. Muslims looked for Prophets1 mosques one by one from the mos¬

que of Abraham to that of the last prophet to be buried in Palestine. They rebuilt them, protected their sanc¬ tity and cleansed them.

One of the oldest monuments that Muslims looked after and considered part of their religious heritage is the Mosque of Sulayman, known to western authors as the Temple of Solomon. The visitor’s attention in

the shrine courtyard is attracted in particular to the Dome of the Chain which adjoins the Dome of the Rock

on the eastern side. The chain is attributed to Sulayman, son of Dawud. The prayer niche of this dome bears

44

the inscription: «Dawud, We have made you a viceregent in the land. Rule with justice among men».

(Quran).

More revealing still, is the fact that Muslims built a mosque on a site called: «the sacred place of the

Prophet Dawud» on a hill of Mount Sion, and assigned a Muslim family as its gate-keeper. Some historians

claim that this is the site of the sepulchre of the Prophet Dawud. There are also inside the shrine, which

houses the two great Mosques of Al-Aqsa and the Rock, a mosque called the Dome of Moses and another

called The Chair of Sulayman. Prayers are performed in both of them. In addition, there are other monu¬

ments outside Bayt Al-Maqdis. Among the best-known of these is the sacred place of the Prophet of God,

Abraham, in the City of Al-Khalil named after him. The place also houses a great mosque.

It may be noted in this context that Muslims ded not adopt any of the vestiges of Jesus Christ in spite of the unique position ascribed to him by the Holy Quran.

Christian Holy Places at the time of the Islamic conquest were held by the Christians themselves and thatthe

pledge written by Umar Ibn Al-Khattab to the Patriarch of Bayt Al-Maqdis specified that «their churches

will not be inhabited or destroyed, that nothing will be taken from them or their domains or from the Cros¬

ses or the possessions of the inhabitants, that these will not be forced to abandon their religion and that no

one of them will be harmed». Christianity came to abolish the kinship to a particular forefather, which had

been emphasized and boasted by the Israelites. Jesus Christ said, «Do not say Abraham is our father, fori

tell you that God can make of these stones sons for Abraham». The Apostle Paul stressed this

by saying: «A11 those from Israel are not Israelites, nor are they all sons of Abraham because they are his

descendants. You could be a descendant of Isaac. In other words, the sons of the flesh are not all sons of

God, but the sons of the Promise are considered descendants». What is meant by «Promise» is the advent of

the Christ. The Apostle Paul added: «Those who believe in God are sons of Abraham as all believers are in

communion with Abraham the believer». The Holy Quran has confirmed this meaning by saying: «Surely

the men who are nearest to Ibrahim are those who follow him; this Prophet, and the true believers. Allah is

the guardian of the faithful». Hence the request of the Patriarch Safronius that the Pledge of Umar Ibn Al-

Khattab should specify that no Jews will inhabit Aelia - Bayt Al-Maqdis - with them .

When Muawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan became Caliph in the year 40 of the Hegira, he visited Bayt Al-

Maqdis and prayed in Calvary (Golgotha), then went to Gethsemane and prayed on the sepulchre of Mary.

These are two of the most sacred Christian sanctuaries in the City.

Muslims took great care of the Holy City. No phase of Islamic history, whatever its regime, elapsed

without the Muslims erecting new buildings in Al-Quds or restoring ancient ones.

In the reign of the Caliphs, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab built a mosque and his respect for the Holy Rock was

such that he cleaned with his very hands the dirt that had accumulated on it and built a place of prayer there.

In the reign of the Omayyads, Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan built the Mosque of the Rock earmarking for

this purpose seven years of Egypt’s head-tax. He had his name engraved on the dome with the date of con¬

struction, i.e. the year 72 of the Hegira. Successive Caliphs and Princes renovated and ornamented the mosque making it, according to the testimony of a western historian, «orie of the most beautivul build¬

ings on earth or indeed one of the greatest monuments to be eternalized by history? Abdul Malik built Al-

Aqsa Mosque which was completed by his son A1 Walid. The Mosque was renovated and embellished with

engravings, candelabra and rugs by a number of Caliphs and Princes, the latest of whom was the militant

King of Morocco Mohammad V who had the floor of the Mosque of the Rock laid with sumptuous carpets.

The Friday Sermon is delivered in this Mosque mobilizing people’s hearts and bringing tears to their eyes.

The King of Bani Ayyub started ornamentation work in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Among them, was the just

King, Sayf Al-Din Abu Bakr, Brother of Sultan Salah Al-Din. The victorious King Taqiy Al-Din Umar Ibn

Shahinshah swept the floor of the Dome of the Rock with his hands, washed it with water several times, then

with rose water, cleaned and washed its walls. Similarly, the outstanding King Nur Al-Din Ali and the Cher¬

ished King Uthman had many good deeds there to their credit. Sultan Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi used to take

stones on horseback with him to the building site of the City wall. He did so himself with the leading perso¬

nalities and princes of his regime. Likewise, scholars, judges, sufis, close associates, military retinue and

45

Abraham Sacred Enclosure in Hebron (Al-Haram Al-lbrahimi in the City of Al-Khalil)

followers used to meet for this purpose. This enabled Salah Al-Din to quickly complete the construction of

the wall which would otherwise have taken several years. To this day, there is, at the southern end of the

courtyard of the Rock, evidence of the filling of the trench by Salah Al-Din.

A number of Muslims built domes in the courtyard of the Rock and near the Rock; the Dome of Mi’raj

(Muhammad’s ascension), the Dome of the Prophet’s Mihrab, the Dome of Joseph, the Dome of Moses,

the Dome of Solomon, the Dome of Al-Khidhr and the Mihrab of David.

They also built, in the precinct and around it, a minaret, open galleries, gates, fountains and cisterns for

drinking. Each of the additions is a historical monument in its own right bearing an inscription or some other

evidence and reflecting the character of its time through ornamentation, calligraphy and invocations of

God.

Muslims turned the courtyard of the Holy precinct, the two great Mosques and the galleries into

schools of religious sciences. Most of the pilgrims went to Bayt Al-Maqdis on their way to and from the

Kaaba and the Holy City has become a sanctuary where Muslims seek the blessings of God as they seek

them in the Holy Kaaba. It has become commendable for pilgrims of both the small pilgrimage (Umrah)

and the major one (Hajj) to observe the state of consecration (Ihram) from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In the

traditions of Abu Dawud, there is a Hadith ascribed to Umm Salma which goes as follows: «Allah’s Apostle

(prayer and peace be upon him) said: «He who starts Hajj or Umrah from Al-Aqsa Mosque, will have all his

previous sins forgiven by Allah». Many of our forefathers, such as Ibn Umar, Maadh and Kaab Al-Ahbar

observed Ihram from there.

Muslims gave the City their love and affection. They risked life and property for it, surrounded the city

with their solicitude and expressed such feelings in their letters and books on the merits of Bayt Al-Maqdis.

46

Ibn Maj a relates in his sayings and doings of the Prophet that Maymuna, the relative of Allah’s Apos¬

tle, said: «I asked Allah’s Apostle to give his opinion about Bayt Al-Maqdis»He said:*Itis the land of assem¬

bly on the Day of Resurrection. Visit it and pray in it for a prayer there is worth a thousand prayers else¬

where^ The Apostle of God is also believed to have said: «He who dies in Bayt Al-Maqdis has died in a

place like Heaven». According to Abu Abbas, the Prophet also said: «He who performs pilgrimage and

prays in Al-Madinah Mosque and in Al-Aqsa Mosque during the same year will be as sinless as the day he

was born». It is reported that Ibn Abbas said: Allah’s Apostle said: «He who wishes to see a place from

Paradise, let him look at Bayt Al-Maqdis».

According to Anas Ibn Malik, the Prophet said: «Paradise yearns for Bayt Al-Maqdis and the Rock of

Bayt Al-Maqdis comes from Paradise and is the centre of the earth».

A large number of Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, of followers and Mujahideen were buried

in the City. Among them were the Companion Ubadah Ibn Al-Samit Al-Ansari, the Companion Shaddad

Ibn Aus, the ascetic Um Al-Khayr Rabi’ah Al-Adawiyyah, the scholastic Muhammad Ibn Karam, leader of

the Karamite sect and the transmitter of Prophetic traditions, Bakr Bin Suhayl Al-Dimyati.

Muslims built in various periods as many as 34 mosques, most of which are in the old City.

They built a large number of small mosques (Zawiya) which are visited by pilgrims from various Mus¬

lim countries. These include the Nakhitchevan Zawiyah for pilgrims from Uzbekistan, the Indian Zawiyah

for pilgrims from India and the Al-Qadiriyah Zawiyah for pilgrims coming from Afghanistan. Each

Zawiyah comprises a mosque and dormitories and owns religious endowments.

They built a number of ancient graveyards which contain the remains of companions and followers

among subsequent scholars, Mujahideen and judges. «A1-Uns Al-Jalil» gives the names of those who died

and were buried there. Among the companions and the followers we mention Ubadah Ibn Al-Samit, Shad-

dad Ibn Aus, Fayruz Al-Daylami, Salamah Ibn Qusayr, Dha Al-Isba’ and Aba Muhammad Al-Bukhari.

They built 56 schools which were served by large numbers of scholars from Madinah and other places in

the Mashriq and the Maghrib. They bequeathed to them as religious endowments copies of the Holy Quran

and rare manuscripts. Most of these schools still exist around the Holy Precinct with their iron gates, their

ornamental engravings and their vast courtyards. As was the case for the Cordova, Al-Azhar and Al-

Qarawiyyin Mosques, the Al-Aqsa Mosque had a large library which scholars from Andalusia, Morocco,

Egypt, Iraq and Persia used to visit for study and teaching. There is at present in the Islamic Museum a large

box containing the Holy Quran handwritten by one of the Kings of Morocco, specially for the Al-AqsaMos- que.

Most of the Islamic places we have mentioned - with the exception of the graveyards - are still in exist¬

ence in the ancient City within the ramparts which were last renovated by Sultan Sulayman the Legislator in

the Tenth Century of the Hegira. Knowing that the old City is small and covers and area of 868 dunums -i.e.

868 square meters - of which the Holy Precinct alone covers 26 dunums, we realize the truth of the statement

that the City, with the passage of time, has become a regular archaeological museum containing a wealth of

monuments, engravings, decorations and candelabra which are unique and priceless.

In conclusion, Islamic monuments make this Holy City, which Muslims throughout their history, have

constantly protected and revered, expanded and restored, a city of greater prestige to them than historic¬

al city of «Urshalim» was to the Jews. Indeed, it may be dealt with on an equal footing with Makkah and

Madinah. The Apostle (peace be upon him) said in a Hadith that it was the fourth city of Paradise. From a

physical and civilizational angle, the Jews have no significant vestiges there, as testified by all Muslim and

Christian scholars. Accordingly, to neglect this Holy City is to neglect the most sacred things for Muslims, to

deprive them of the performance of their religious rites which have been protected by all religious and civil

laws, to jeopardize all their sacred places in Makkah and Madinah and to undermine Islamic endowments

and private property. This cannot possibly be endured by Muslims whatever their wisdom and self-control.

47

This leads us to realize that Muslims’ relationship with Al-Quds did not begin with the conquest carried

out by Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab - may God be pleased with him. The relationship was established within

the Holy Quran, within Islamic faith and within the Prophet’s tradition. Al-Quds had been, by virtue of the

Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first of the two qiblahs for Muslims since the early period of Islamic call. Its Holy

Rock was the point from which the Apostle (peace and blessings be upon him) started the Night Journey to

Heaven. Many holy verses were revealed about this event making it an integral part of Islamic belief. This

was further exalted by the Prophet’s recommendation that pilgrims should break their journey at three mos¬

ques: i.e. the Mosque of the Apostle in Madinah, the Holy Kaaba in Makkah and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in

Al-Quds. Thus the City of Al-Quds and the Palestine land around it became a part of Islam beforebecoming

a part of the history, civilization and heritage of the Arabs and Muslims and the strategic point which is

essential for unity between the western and the eastern parts of the Arab and Islamic world.

Al-Quds is, for the Islamic faith, a blessed and sacred land to Muslims and a part of the spiritual set-up

of the Muslim believer. Consequently, it is inconceivable that Muslims may accept to neglect their right to it

under any circumstances whatsoever. It may indeed be said that no Islamic power has the right to freely dis¬

pose of this right. It goes without saying that any negligence of this right is wrong in the sight of Islam even if

it based on a consensus for texts have precedence over consensus.

Islamic history was soon linked to Al-Quds more than any other city. This is due to the fact that it was

the object of covetousness based on its unifying spiritual position and its strategic military and political loca¬

tion. Its occupation and confiscation from the Arabs and Muslims automatically leads to the division of the

Muslim world, the weakening of the Muslim Ummah and the damaging of its dignity. This explains the close

spiritual, political and military ties between Islamic history and the City of Al-Quds. This bond was particu¬

larly evident after the European occupation of Al-Quds, which lasted for nearly two hundred years. The sei¬

zure of the City made the Arab Islamic world cling more than ever before to this area and adhere to its spir¬

itual, psychological, political and strategic ties with it. Streams of Muslim blood were shed for its recovery

from the European Crusaders then from the Mongols. The battle of Ayn Jalut is but a testimony of the Mus¬

lim blood shed on the blessed land of Palestine.

That period of Islamic history and its ties with Al-Quds has never left the conscience and spirit of the

Muslim Ummah ever since. That story was told to successive generations. It was revived in the lateFifteenth

Church of the Resurrection by Robert (1840) 48

Century and the early Sixteenth Century with the appearance of signs pointing to new European expedi¬

tions through the Portuguese. This was one of the main causes of strength and unity of the Ottoman Empire, when the Ottomans had established control over the Mediterranean, driven away the Portuguese from

some Islamic coasts and warded off the danger to Bayt Al-Maqdis. The problem cropped up again with

Napolean’s invasion of Egypt and Palestine and subsequently Al-Quds and Palestine have become the crux

of the conflict between the Arab and the Muslim worlds, on the one hand, and the Zionist invasion on the

other, particularly since this invasion imposed its control over one half of Al-Quds and parts of Palestine in

1948.

The conflict reached its culmination when the Zionist invasion occupied the whole City of Al-Quds and

the remaining parts of Palestine, in addition to Egyptian and Syrian Arab territories in 1967. The Al-Aqsa

Mosque fell into captivity and the cause of Al-Quds has become the central and foremost issue for Arabs

and Muslims in general.

When we speak about the prestige of Al-Quds for Muslims, we mean first its prestige within the Islamic

faith and Muslims’ spiritual and psychological set-up-In this respect, this prestige is deep-rooted and power¬

ful and cannot be wrested or removed. Turning to its prestige in the history of our Ummah, we find it at the

root of events, conflicts and wars. Priceless sacrifices have been made for its sake, generation after genera¬

tion. Besides, if we view this prestige from the angle of Arab unity and from political and strategic angles,

we realize that, under Israeli occupation, it constitutes the basis for the very existence of the Ummah with its

hopes, interests and aspirations. This explains the appeal made for Islamic solidarity to deliver Al-Quds and

the rising call for Jihad to liberate it. On the basis of all these facts, non-Islamic peoples in the world can

have a better perception of the meaning of Al-Quds to Islamic peoples in general and to the Arabs in par¬

ticular. Such perception is likely to help avoid the dire consequences of any solutions that may be proposed

or imposed which violate Islamic faith and thwart the rights of the Palestinian peoples, those rights which

one billion Muslims are persistently seeking to restore.

In this context, it may be stated that the confirmed right of the people of Palestine to Al-Quds and

Palestine, when proclained and executed, will embody the aspirations of the Christian world as a whole to

say nothing of the Palestininan and the Arab Christians. Indeed, the Christian character of the Christian

Holy Places in Al-Quds, Bethlehem and other areas can only be preserved through the existence of Palesti¬

nian Christians who form a part of the Palestinian people. Conversely, those Holy places will become, in the

absence of believers who give them attentive care, mere archaeological sites whose object is to attract tour¬

ists and students. (The Vatican, having realized this point, has made strenuous efforts to maintain the pre¬

sence of the Arab Christians in Palestine particularly in Al-Quds and Bethlehem and to oppose their dis¬

placement by Jewish authorities). Accordingly, the Palestinian people is the true guarantor for the pre¬

servation of the City of Al-Quds with its sanctities, as a city of pilgrimage, peace and spiritual purification

for all believers alike, particularly if we take into account that the people of Palestine has a deep-rooted

tradition in safeguarding the Holy Places of the three religions together with the believers’ dwellings around

them and in guaranteeing free access to such Holy Places.

Israeli occupation has embarked on the mutilation of the landmarks of the City of Al-Quds, the viola¬

tion and desecration of its Holy Places and forced emigration on its original inhabitants. It has undertaken

the gradual demolition of the old City and its historical monuments, erected dense cement buildings attract¬

ing to them thousands of settlers among western Jews. It is thus proceeding with the Judaization of Al-Quds

and its deviation from its historical role as a spiritual centre.

51

52

53

54

Some of the towers on the Ramparts of Al-Quds

55

I

Front of the Al-Aqsa Mosque

Inside view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque View of the Ai-Aqsa Mosque from the courtyard of the Sacres Enclosure

58

ar«»&

Islamic motifs ornamenting the interior of the Al-Aqsa mosque.

59

Mosque of the Ho!y Rock ■■mwii ... Mi

60

Views of the Mosque of the Holy Rock from different locations.

61

South Door of the Mosque of the Rock facing the direction of prayer (Bab Al-Qiblah).

Jill

'jgLs'y *r/St'UjTW «r/J 1 \\3zm»^v*w(

•ffx iSSf

Islamic motifs ornamenting the exterior walls of the Mosque of the Rock

63

Islamic motifs ornamenting the interior walls of the Mosque of the Rock

Fountain of Sultan Qayit Bey One of the minarets of the Sacred Enclosure

Courtyard of the Sacred Enclosure showing the Mi’raj Dome, and the Al-Khidhr Dome.

Mosque of the Citadel at Bab Al-Khalil. View of the Citadel from inside the Enclosure

66

Muslim worshippers performing the Friday prayer in the courtyard of the Sacred Enclosure

y • •« * ^ *

i » * t

+ S l * #' 4% « 9 *

■» *

:i . 4 1 4 t i 1

* .0

k.n-

»> *' f

» * 4

[►** v*/j

I *!*'/%

\ x

J> •

Place of ablution (Fountain) between the Rock and Al-Aqsa.

Marble Pulpit of Burhan Al-Din

Inside the Mosque of the Holy Rock, are kept a few ringlets of the hair of the Holy Prophet. 67

CHAPTER III

ZIONIST INVASION OF

AL-QUDS AND PALESTINE

Al-Quds and Palestine have been subjected, at the beginning

of the Fourteenth Century of the Hegira, to the Zionist invasion

which marked the start of Zionist colonial presence there and in the

Arab World. This invasion passed through successive phases during

a whole century.

Zionist invasion started in the third quarter of the Nineteenth

Century A.D. and coincided with the last major wave of contem¬

porary European colonization. It was a tidal wave. The year 1882

witnessed the arrival of the first organized wave of Jewish immigra¬

tion from East Europe. For this reason, it has been considered by

Zionist historians the year of the beginning.

Palestine was then under the rule of the Ottoman Empire which was called by European colonial pow¬

ers the «sick man». Palestine territories were part of the provinces of Al-Sham. They were inhabited by the

Arab people of Palestine which numbered then less than a million souls. The population comprised a Mus¬

lim majority, Christians and approximately twelve thousand Jews. These consisted of Palestinian Arab

Jews who had been living there for centuries and European Jews who came to Palestine in the early

Nineteenth Century. The entire population lived in an atmosphere of tolerance which characterized life in the Holy Land during Islamic rule.

The first phase of the Zionist invasion lasted thirty-five years until late 1917 when Britain occupied

Palestine and Lord Allenby entered Al-Quds. During this phase, the Zionist Herzl published «The Jewish

State» in 1895. He called for the convening of the First Zionist Congress which was held in Basle, Switzer¬

land, in 1897 and crystallized the schemes of the Zionist movement. Zionist emigration to Palestine during

that phase took the form of infiltration since the Ottoman Empire had not officially permitted it. It took

advantage of administrative corruption in the State machinery to penetrate the country and achieve its

objectives. We may point out here Herzl’s attempts with Sultan Abdul Hamid II to obtain his permissionfor

Jewish immigration and the establishment of a national home for Zionism in Palestine. These attempts were

thwarted by the Sultan’s position which called for the removal of the Zionist danger. We may also point out

Herzl’s approaches to European colonial powers for the establishment of a Zionist-colonialist alliance with

them. A series of Zionist congresses were held during this phase to discuss the place where the national

home may be established. It was decided that the place would be Arab Palestine.

The Zionist movement during this phase was able to induce about fifty thousand Jews, mostly from

East Europe, to emigrate to Palestine. Zionist historians called those immigrants «pioneers», comparing

them to the early white settlers in America. Among those immigrants, was David Ben Gourion who arrived

with the 1904 wave. The Zionist movement was able to take possession of 1% of the Palestine land through

devious purchase operations from non-Palestinian families living outside Palestine. Crystallizing its rela¬

tionship with world colonialism at the end of this phase, the movement moved its main office from East

Europe to Britain. It entered into an alliance with British imperialism which nourished the ambition to con¬

trol Palestine and the Arab world. It drew up with it and with French imperialism the border lines which

were subsequently established between Palestine and the other parts of Al-Sham, i.e. Lebanon, Syria and

Transjordan. This was laid down in the Sykes-Picot Treaty of 1916.

69

Israeli occupation forces entering the Sacred Enclosure on 7 June 1967

The international situation favoured the Zionist invasion which started shortly after the Berlin Confer¬

ence held in 1878 in the aftermath of the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire which witnessed the

European powers’ talk about the distribution among themselves of the zones of influence in the Arab home¬

land, the Muslim world and the non-European world in general. Europe was then at the zenith of its impe¬

rial power which was linked to the industrial revolution on its own territory. It controlled the destinies of

countries and nations throughout the continents. Colonialist rivalry among European powers intensified

during that period. The beginning of the Zionist invasion coincided with the French occupation of Tunisia in

1881 and the British occupation of Egypt in 1882 then Sudan in 1897. The first stage of the Zionist invasion

witnessed the 1904 Entente Cordiale between Britain and France, which paved the way for the alliance of

the two powers during the First World War and the signing of the Sykes-Picot Treaty. It also witnessed the

Italian invasion of Libya in 1911 and the French invasion of Morocco in 1912. The Arab homeland had

already been subjected to the first wave of Western colonization when France occupied Algeria in 1830 and

Britain occupied Aden in 1839, then advanced from there to the Gulf coasts. Many other Muslim countries had been seized by Western colonial powers.

The Palestine people opposed the Zionist invasion from the very beginning. They did their utmost to

hamper its progress. They discharged their duty in warning the Arab Ummah and the Muslim world of the

dangers of Zionism. Ben Gourion related many anecdotes on this opposition, as did Zionist history books

on that period. The records of the «Two Representahines» Council include the speeches of representatives

of the Palestine people, warning of the dangers of the Zionist-imperialist conspiracy. Ottoman documents

in general depict the history of the resistance of the Palestine people. Palestine was witnessing at the time,

with the rest of the Arab countries, the development of the Arab revival movement. This movement had

actively sought, since the advent of the Thirteenth Century of the Hegira (Nineteenth Century A.D) to

achieve progress and ward off the dangers of European imperialism.

The Zionist invasion entered a new phase in the aftermath of World War I. The Declaration of Balfour,

British Foreign Minister, to the Zionist movement, favoured the establishment in Palestine, of a national

Home for the Jews. The Declaration, which was issued on 2 November 1917, gave concrete form to the

alliance between the colonialist Zionist movement and British imperialism. The British occupation of

Palestine in December 1917 - i.e. after the issuing of the Declaration and the abandonment, by Britain, of its

commitments towards the Arabs - enabled the Zionist invasion to penetrate Palestine. The Versailles Peace

Accords at the end of the war came to divide the countries of Al-Sham and the Fertile Crescent and to im¬

pose the British mandate on Palestine. In the mandate instrument, Britain committed itself to paving the

way for the establishment of the Jewish national home in the country.

The Zionist-imperialist alliance was able, during the trying years of the British mandate in Palestine, to

induce hundreds of thousands of European Jews to emigrate to Arab Palestine particularly in the 1930’s

which were marked by the emergence of Nazism in Germany. The alliance was also able to take illegal pos¬

session of 5.5% of fertile Palestinian land through open coercion and colonialist intimidation. Thus, the

number of Jews in Palestine rose from about sixty-five thousand at the beginning of British occupation to

some six hundred and fifty thousand at the end of the occupation in 1948. The people of Palestine numbered

then one and a half million.

European colonialism established its full control over major parts of the Arab homeland and the Mus¬

lim world in the aftermath of World War I. Arabs and Islamic peoples’ resistance against colonization inten¬

sified in all these zones including Palestine which witnessed a number of riots and insurrections throughout

the 20’s, and 30’s culminating during the period 1936-39. This resistance forced a kind of retreat on the part

of Britain on several occasions. Then World War II broke out bringing about new conditions on the interna¬

tional scene. The Zionist movement adapted to these conditions by bringing its weight to bear on the United

States which emerged during and after the war as leader of the West. During this period and since 1937, the

idea of partitioning Palestine into two States, one Arab and the other Jewish, was mooted. The United Na¬

tions adopted the resolution on partition on 29 November 1947 amid pressure from the colonialist-Zionist

camo. The resolution gave the Jewish State an area which represented many times the area previously

71

appropriated by the Zionist movement from

the land of Palestine and which represented

more than half the total area of the country.

It may be noted that most Jewish immigrants

up to the end of this phase were European

Jews, which corroborates the fact that the

Zionist invasion at the outset was a European

colonialist invasion. It may also be pointed

out that the Zionist settlers, carried out, after

the issue, by Britain, of the White Paper in

1939, operations against the mandatory pow¬

er, organized by some of their terrorist orga¬

nizations. They gave such operations the

name of war of independence and described

them as a liberation movement in order to

mount the wave of liberation which had

swept the continents of Asia and Africa since

World War II and to fabricate a history that

would cover up the reality of the Eionist

alliance with British imperialism. The White

Paper had provided for the limitation of Jew¬

ish emigration to Palestine as a result of the

revolt of the Palestine people.

The Zionist invasion entered this phase of penetration with the end of World War I when Europe’s col¬

onialist greed was rife. War, however, changed the picture of the European continent, paved the way forthe

emergence of universal ideologies there and imposed the proclamation of the principles of self-

determination and peace. When the Versailles Conference was held in 1919 in the aftermath of the war, its

resolutions came as a painful blow to such principles. The Conference witnessed the talk of Western powers

about the distribution among themselves of the zones of influence and the colonies under the name of man¬

date or trusteeship. Thus, the British mandate enabled the Zionist invasion to penetrate Palestine; Britain

and France split up the Arab homeland and divided the control of most parts thereof among themselves.

During this phase, Europe was still controlling the destinies of the other continents although the United

States had emerged as a big power on the scene. The resistance of the colonized peoples against colonization

intensified during that period. Among its striking examples, were the struggles of the Arab people of Pales¬

tine and other Arab peoples throughout the Arab homeland. Moreover, the crisis of values in the colonial powers emerged and was reflected in the League of Nations experiment.

Thus broke out the Second World War two decades after the Versailles Conference. We may point out that the Zionist invasion made the most of this international climate and its effects on European policy to

penetrate Palestine. It joined Nazism in fabricating repressive campaigns against the Jews in their home¬ lands in order to achieve its purposes and induce the Jews to emigrate. It may also be noted that the Arab

struggle entered a new phase during this period. It took the form of national struggle which was imposed by

the slicing up of the Arab homeland at the hands of colonialism. An overview of the movements of national

struggle throughout the Arab world shows that this struggle was influenced by the close ties within the Arab

Ummah. This bond caused the movements to sympathize with one another from a distance despite the dis¬

memberment. The Arab struggle succeeded in driving colonialism out of some of these areas. The libera¬ tion movement appeared clearly in the Arab homeland in the aftermath of the Second World War.

rortifB office.

l*o*t*ibar 1*0, •%.**

pstr Lord Jtolbacbil*.

1 Um touch pltaaurs la cows tyin4 u y&-.

bthalf of Hit MO'taty'a OovsrrKOBt. Ud faUomvf

declaration or oyrptuiy with JsvisJi Zionist aspiration*

thlch hot tom rutar.iUt* to. ant oppress* oy. U-* t*Lir.a:

"Hit Uajtaty's Gcfimxtol sirs rut firea-Ui

•aWbllahr-aot la Paiaatina of t national toco for tot

Jawlab ptoplt, ar.a will bos ffeair toot ooCaavAiri tc

faciliiato Its achuvaaosl of tbla ofcjtct 11 bairg

c It surly unotrttoco tbit nothing obtXl bo *000 «Mc r

may prstudies tbs civil to* religious rl£iu of

•xittli* ooo-Jtwiit caanuniuaa la palaatini. cr tr.a

righla tod political tutus tnioys* ®y m toy

othtr country*'-

1 tbould bt grauful if ycu would bring to it

gsclaration to Uta xnowladg* of tha Zionist ftdtraticr.

Lord Balfour’s attitude towards the Arabs of Palestine, as ex¬ pressed in his letter to Lord Rothschild, known in the Arab world as the ill-fated Balfour Declaration.

72

Another phase of the Zionist aggression started in 1948 after the withdrawal of Britain from Palestine

and its handing over large areas to the Zionist movement which proclaimed the creation of the State of

Israel. The beginning of this phase saw the outbreak of the Palestine war which is generally considered to be

the first one in the conflict. The Zionist movement drove away about one million Palestinians to neighbour¬

ing Arab territories in compliance with the colonization schemes which aimed to replace them with new

Zionist settlers. This phase witnessed thereafter an inrush of migratory waves of Jews from Europe first

then from the Arab homeland into Palestine. The number of newcomers reached about two million by 1967.

The population of the Israeli agglomeration rose during the invasion phase from six hundred and fifty

thousand to approximately two and a half million, showing a fourfold increase. They represent 13% of the

Jews in the world. The land area under the invaders’ control also increased many times over,through the

handing over of vast territories by the British authorities prior to their withdrawal in accordance with the

1947 partition map, the overstepping of the borderline of this map in 1948, the. implementation of the

Rhodes Accords in 1949 and the seizure of further Arab territories. In this way, the Zionist movement con¬

trolled more than 70% of the total area of Palestine and succeeded in occupying Umm Al-Rashrash and

finding an access to the Gulf of Aqaba. It also succeeded in occupying some new districts of Al-Quds. The

inhabitants of Al-Quds, by putting up a fierce resistance, were able to protect the Old City and its holy

places. The area seized by the Zionist entity comprised the whole of Palestine with the exception of the

Gaza Strip, the West Bank and a small area south of Tiberias. Israel waged war against Egypt in 1956 in col¬

lusion with Britain and France in an attempt to expand further. It occupied the Gaza Strip and the Sinai

Peninsula. It was, however, forced to withdraw following the failure of the tripartite aggression and the

Suez war. This was the second war in the conflict. Prior to this war, Israel would launch persistent attacks on

the West Bank, the Strip and the Syrian and Egyptian borders.

Jewish immigrants arriving in Palestine on board the Ship Haganah in 1946. Forced emigration of the people of Palestine continues to this day.

The Zionist movement succeeded, during this phase, in establishing the so-called «Little Israel» and

started planning for the establishment of «Greater Israel». A change occurred in the composition of Israeli

society which was not limited to European Jews, as the Zionist movement had induced large numbers of

Jews from the Arab homeland to Palestine. Yet the preponderance was still in the European settlers’ comp.

The effects of this change started to appear gradually. During this phase, the colonialist nature of Zionism

came out clearly through its racist concepts and expansionist methods. It was particularly manifest in the

Israeli policy towards the Arabs of occupied Palestine who had remained on their land and were evicted

therefrom. The best-known manifestations of this policy were the massacres of Deir Yasin, Qubbiyyah,

Nahhalin and Kafr Qasim, the confiscation of land, the education policy and the displacement of Palesti¬

nian Arabs.

73

The Arabs met the challenges of the 1948 disaster. Their strug¬

gle against the Zionist invasion entered a new phase. The revival in

the Arab homeland led to significant achievements. The liberation

movement swept the Muslim world resulting in the independence of

many Islamic peoples. The failure of the tripartite aggression contri¬

buted to a large extent to the boosting of liberation movements in

Asia and Africa. The Arab Ummah and the peoples of Asia and

Africa embarked boldly on major experiments in the fields of eco¬

nomic transformation and political cooperation. Such develop¬

ments upset the colonialistionist alliance and prompted it to strike at

the progress achieved..

On the international level a new world emerged in the after-

math of the Second Wrold War, which witnessed the atomic revolu¬

tion. The role of the United States and the Soviet Union grew in¬

creasingly bigger as colonialist Europe was exhausted by the war.

The wave of Asian - African liberation mounted and contributed to

the drawing up of the map of the new world. Although Big Powers

had tried at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, held in 1945, to

draw the map of the world, peoples’ struggle imposed many changes

on their work and made liberation the spirit of the age. The United

Nations’ experiment came to light and differed from its predecessor

thanks to the liberation wave. 1947 Plan for the partition of Palestine

The Bandung Conference in 1955, was a turning point in the international set-up as the newly-independent

states made their voices heard. The concept of the Third World materialized and contributed to the lessen¬

ing of tension between the two camps. The Zionist movement focussed on the consolidation of its alliance

with the United States as the role of the United States grew bigger in the world.

The Arab people of Palestine faced, during this phase, a very difficult situation. It suffered the 1948

disaster; Israel occupied large sections of its homeland; this occupation imposed on most of it an exodus to

the West Bank, the Gaza strip and neighbouring Arab countries. Its institutions were deeply affected and its

entity shaken. Yet it soon recovered from the horror of the disaster and met its challenges. It put up,

throughout this phase, a remarkable resistance in the face of various attempts to liquidate its cause. Its sons

embarked on the propagation of and quest for knowledge and caried out an educational revolution which

preserved their identity as a people. It exerted serious efforts of armed struggle and participated in the re¬

sistance against Israeli assaults. The Palestinian Arabs who had remained on their land under Israeli rule

held out against the ugliest forms of tyranny and oppression while preserving their national identity. The

Gaza population combatted Israeli occupation in 1956. The sons of Palestine combined their efforts in many

crowded areas to assert the Palestinian entity, which led to the establishment of the Palestine Liberation

Organisation in 1964. The Palestinian Revolution broke out in 1965 and started its operations against Israeli occupation.

The war waged by Israel in 1967 heralded the beginning of a new phase of the Zionist colonialist pre¬

sence in Palestine and the Arab homeland. Through this war, the third in the conflict, it occupied the

Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Syrian territory of the Golan and the Egyp¬ tian territory of the Sinai thus quadrupling the area it controlled previously.

Israel now occupied an extremely important strategic position. Its forces crouched on the east bank of

the Suez Canal and the south coast of the Sinai between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea facing the Delta

and River Nile in Egypt and Sudan. Its forces crouched along the west coast of the Gulf of Aqaba and in the

islands situated in the middle of its entrance facing the Arabian Peninsula, and along Ghor Al-Inhidam

from the extremity of the Gulf of Aqaba to the sources of the River Jordan facing the east bank of the Jordan

and beyond it, Iraq and the Gulf; along a line between Mount Al-Sheikh and Cape Al-Naqurah facing Syria

and Lebanon and along the east coast of the Mediterranean from Cape Al-Naqurah to Cape Al-Ish north of

Port-Said.

74

Through this war, Israel occu¬

pied East Al-Quds and endeavoured

to induce more world Jews to emi¬

grate to it and to the occupied Arab

territories. It started to built settle¬

ments for them in those territories.

It began to talk about «Greater

Israel» and discourse about «Torah

borders» and historical borders»

within the context of the «defensive

borders». The Israeli agglomeration

was dominated during this phase by

delusions of grandeur and the com¬

plex of racial superiority. Ill - equipped Arabs defending Arab Al-Quds on 31 March 1948.

Such feelings would have reached alarming proportions had it not been for the escalation of the resistance of the Palestinian people against occupation and for the early resort of the Arab struggle to a war of attrition.

Israel subjected the populations of Palestine, Sinai and the Golan to an ugly colonialist trial which revealed

the racist colonialist character of the Zionist movement. The manifestations of this trial included the expul¬

sion and displacement of more Arabs, and forced emigration of entire cities.

The loss of the 67 war was as painful for the Arab Ummah as the response of the Arab struggle to the

challenge of this war was strong. This struggle faced up to the Zionist aggression with determination

through the war of attrition. The resistance of the Arab people of Palestine was stepped-up and continued

relentlessly from the beginning of the invasion. It assured extreme importance particularly after the Battle

of Dignity in 1968 and imposed the fact of the existence of the’Palestine people on the international scene.

There was at that time a transformation in international relations. The policy of peaceful co-existence brought about major changes in the eastern and western camps. Colonialist forces tried to strike at libera¬

tion movements. The 1967 represented the culmination of such attempts. The struggle intensified between

the developing and the rich countries. Israel set about serving the interests and policies of colonialist powers

in the Arab homeland and the Third World. It also set about reinforcing its alliance with the United States of

America. Israel proved to be, through its practices, the embodiment of a singular type of colonialism. «It isa

purely colonialist manifestation based on confiscation; a sectarian type of colonialism rooted in religious

fanaticism; unrestricted racist colonialism with all the arrogance, extremism and oppression of racism stem¬

ming from colour and the claim to be a chosen people; it is a section of European colonialism overseas;

populating and settling colonialism; it is the embodiment of multi-sided populating, strategic and economic

colonialism; expansionist colonialism dreaming of its living space. It is both first-degree and second-degree

colonialism in its own right and by proxy for world Zionism and world colonialism».

The Zionist aggression had described, during these four phases, an ascending curve. The Ramadhan

War of 1973 put an end to that ascension. The Palestinian Revolution pursued its struggle on all fronts and

fought honourable battles on the military front. It was credited with major achievements towards the asser¬

tion of the Palestinian identity and the international recognition of the national rights of the Palestine peo¬

ple. The Arab-Israeli conflict raged. The Zionist movement, slipping further towards extremism in dealing

with the Palestinian struggle, focussed its attention on the seizure of Al-Quds, the West Bank and Gaza.

We may note at this point a general observation on the trend of the conflict taking place on the land of

Palestine which affects, in scope, all the Arab and Islamic scenes. Indeed, we are witnessing, for the first

time during this struggle, the beginning of the count-down for the Zionist invasion in Palestine. Among the

numerous signs pointing to this, is the important change on the international scene with regard to the Israeli

State which suffers increasing isolation, while the Palestinian cause, the Palestine Liberation Organization

and the Arab and Islamic position in general have had greater impact on the international scene. This is re¬

flected in the almost total international recognition which developed in respect of the inalienable rights of

the Palestinian people including their right to return, to self-determination and to the establishment of their

75

independent State. It is also reflected in the growing international recognition of the Liberation Organiza¬

tion and the influence and respect enjoyed by the Arab Islamic Ummah at present particularly when it

speaks with one voice.

The character of the struggle of our Ummah against the Zionist enemy is such that this change assumes

crucial importance for future developments. Indeed, this conflict has never been a local conflict with inter¬

national repercussions but an international conflict which has intensified on Palestinian land. The Zionist

invasion came from outside, with outside support. Its state was established, and has been drawing its

strength to this day from undeniable and undisputable world support. Accordingly, when its position de¬

velops a crisis on the international scene and the winds start blowing against it, it loses a fundamental source

of strength and life. If such a development is combined with an escalation of the Palestinian struggle, the

consecration of Palestinian national unity and increased Arab and Islamic support for the Palestine Libera¬

tion Organization; if it is combined with the strengthening of Arab Islamic solidarity, the assertion of the

Ummah’s will for the liberation of Al-Quds and the attainment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian

people, together with a constant effort in the field of military, economic and social preparedness, then the

balance will tilt in favour of Palestine and the Arab and Islamic countries and matters will start taking their

natural and inescapable course.

16

Jews arrived to Palestine

between 1939 and 1944:

Poland ■

Romania

Germany 8,000 Chechoslovakia 6,000 Hungary 2,000 Bulgaria 3,000 Greece 1,000 Yugoslavia 800

Litwania 600

Russia 600

Italy 500

France 300

Holand 200

Latfia 100

kill TV* O* 'i/1^ (H-k* 4 kjl' <*>•*& • » iViU >—iLi'i_jU ^11 Ull

I41 tau. -■! jVjjIj ]»jLa . JsL-jU ^1 J>-qÛ cS-*.**-1 kill

jr-* f«-k* jr^ <>Jj > . ( kjlLU-Jl JjfcL-uaj

>-i

; uL-a.% ^1 cjUjUai ji i)

4 tjl 1 JuJl jl ^4 ijJu Jjit liLtil

4oU jUÎ JV V ‘ U j Ui- »f-jj cH-il' ,jS\—jlj-tl j .V4SJJ ^ (ef*1 jl 4 Vjjjl uUii»gl îkuij V Lftiaj <jpkla«™Ji ^jS!j

Luo*_j£a Qy LuU lijjj 4 Î»a

jlo—Lll £-« JjIaJL Ijji (jii

• U *.iua jSL-14 Aau'i tyk-Jlj 4

J**Jl -uaJU i*-®>Jl ) ( i\n jiytf

X-il 0* 0* «—U^J^lll k

iilUklUtul k-ul-CA^J ljj>l 1

JUj . ijjUl' ^1—* 'i *'>* i>

j-—» jLojI u> »11 'ii |

^1 ijxjj 4 ily\ £ja_5 j»^l o*

« >' till »YU* H >"*■ IJ ’• I*—-0-iU'

‘ Jj*J' jr-4k*> <UJ;^11

u—1' >* : J-A,J *ijr* • k>—1

il

Za_• Jfciii ( 'Ajys* — jy^ ) jJa-kli ^ •Jj-IaAI î- ^-5^1' e>^4l,

<»Ujll ,>* 4111^11 J»yAjj

♦ f*»jljik~jlj *â-4

t^7"

Map showing Zionist emigration to Palestine between 1933 and 1945 (Courtesy of Dar Al-Quds, Beirut Atlas of the Arab-Zionist conflict).

77

CHAPTER IV

ISRAELI PRACTICES IN JERUSALEM AND THE ATTITUDE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

The Zionist extremist trend has become crys¬

tal clear in its attitude towards Al-Quds. Israeli

practices in the Holy City have come to substanti¬

ate the serious danger of this trend. Thus the ques¬

tion of Al-Quds has begun to preoccupy the world community.

In this study, we would like to look at some of the facts concerning the issue of Al-Quds and the develop¬

ment of Israeli practices in the City, In fact, the issue of the Holy City, though an integral part of the Palesti¬

nian question as a whole, is a subject of very particular importance. The two issues are interlinked and the

spotlight on Al-Quds only emphasizes this interconnection. The Holy City is indeed the core of the whole

question of Palestine and the major axis that holds its different parts together. It is no exaggeration to say

that no understanding of the struggle taking place in Palestine can ever be complete without a thorough

comprehension of the on-going struggle for A1 - Quds. A major evidence of this fact probably lies in Israel’s

insistence on making A1 - Quds the capital of the State and the epitome of the Zionist presence in Palestine.

Official Israeli statements including those made by the Opposition do not allow for any doubt or equivoca¬

tion in their position on Al-Quds’s status which can be summed up as follows:

— Forcing Muslim and Christian Arabs of the Eastern part of Al-Quds to leave the City.

— Judaization of Al-Quds through the settlement of Zionists in the City.

— Obliterating the Arab-Islamic features of the City by changing its different characteristic traits: build¬ ings, streets and geography.

— Annexation of the City with its East and West parts to the State of Israel and making it the permanent Capital of the State.

— Depriving the City of its religious character which encompasses the three revealed religions and which

had been safeguarded by Islamic rule and Arab presence over 14 centuries.

The judaization of the City, therefore, does not only deprive it of its Islamic and Christian character but

also of its Judaic character because it will make of the City an occidental tourist town with a few ancient

monuments instead of the City of pilgrimae, history, Holy Places and faith. In fact, forcing the Arabs to

emigrate from Al-Quds, the judaization of the City and its annexation to the State of Israel make up the

whole story of Palestine with the Zionist invasion and reveal the real dimensions of the Zionist enterprise.

These acts constitute a denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the liquidation ofits

cause as a people entitled to its homeland and its capital city Al-Quds and having the right to exist and live

with a citizenship of its own as well as the right to self-determination and sovereignty in its homeland.

Focusing on the question of Al-Quds, hence, no more than a primary iniroduction to the Palestinian

question as a whole. Affirming the right of the Palestinian people in the City is only a consecration of the

inalienable rights of this people at the level of the Palestinian cause in its different dimensions.

A. Al-Quds between 1947 and 1967

The Zionist plan for the seizure of the Holy City was included in the general plan for the occupation of

Palestine as early as the Balfour Declaration, when the British authorities promised to set up a National

Jewish Home in Palestine. The declaration was in contradiction with the commitments and promises of the

allies to grant the people its independence or at least the right to self-determination.

Throughout the Mandate period, the British Government tried, through its different projects concern¬

ing the Palestinian question, to separate the area of Al-Quds and put it under British Administration on the

grounds that the British authorities would act as an arbitrator in the Arab-Zionist conflict. The U.N. Gener¬

al Assembly adopted this view in its Resolution on the partition of Palestine on 29 November 1947. The Re¬

solution granted the City (i.e. the old, modern, Arab and Jewish quarters in the City in addition to the towns

and villages surrounding it including Bathlehem) a special international status; a plan illustrating this status

was annexed to the U.N. Resolution. The Resolution also stipulated the establishment of an economic un¬

ion linking Al-Quds to the neighbouring Arab and Jewish areas.

Some people may now think that the Resolution to grant Al-Quds an international status was better

than the judaization of the City and its annexation to the State of Israel. However, even after the period that

has elapsed, we should put on record that the Resolution was an act of glaring injustice towards the Palesti¬

nian people and a violation of its rights.

Together with the partition plan, the Resolution paved the way for the establishment of the Israeli State and

the expulsion of the Palestinian people and, of course, the seizure of Al-Quds.

In fact, there was no reason to internationalize Al-Quds on the pretext of protecting the Holy Places

and ensuring access to them because the sovereign right of the Palestinian people in the City cannot be sub¬

ject to any equivocation. History has proved that the Arab-Islamic rule of the City had always safeguarded the Holy Places, guaranteed free access to them and ensured the free practice of religious rites.

This had even become a traditional practice before the setting up of any international system or written reg¬

ulations to ensure the rights of sects and minorities or any other regulations concerning the protection of

places of worship and pilgrimage routes. The situation had so satisfied the world in general that the question

of the Holy Places was never raised during Arab rule except in the 19th Century as a result of foreign cove¬

tousness and interventions.

The issue of Al-Quds, one of the basic issues of the principal Palestinian question, started to gain more

importance in the international arena and attract the attention of different organs of the United Nations

System. It also began to preoccupy many world authors and writers who became concerned with the issue

for cultural or humanitarian reasons.

But the internationalization plan adopted by the United Nations continued to exist theoretically. The

Arabs rejected the partition plan including the plan for the internationalization of Al-Quds. The Zionists

split in their position over the internationalization plan, yet they accepted the plan in order to secure the

votes they needed for the approval and the legitimacy» of their plan to set up their State. The war had

broken out before the British forces left Palestine and Al-Quds was the primary objective of the Zionist plan for the occupation of the country.

The Mandatory Authorities facilitated the way for Zionist organizations to occupy most of the modern

City sectors. Many of these sectors had in fact been occupied before the formal expiry of the British Man¬

date. Then came the massacre of Dir Yassin on 9 April, 1948, perpetrated by the Zionist Irgoun organiza¬

tion. The massacre was one of a series of acts committed to force Arabs to emigrate. However, the Arab

citizens of Al-Quds managed to hold out and remain in the Old City due to their cooperation with the Holy

War (Al-Jihad) resistance groups, the Palestinian Salvation Army forces and the forces of the Jordanian

Army. During those events, the Trusteeship Council (constituted by the Internationalization plan) ended

its consideration of the special status plan concerning the International Al-Quds Zone and submitted it to

the U.N. General Assembly on the 21 April, 1948 for adoption and appointment of the City governor. But

the U.N. General Assembly, in its extraordinary session on Palestine, was busy seeking to establish a truce

in the Holy City through the consuls of the Member States of the U.N. Security Council in the City or under

the auspices of the Red Cross Association there.

As the U.N. efforts failed to achieve a truce, the General Assembly recommended on 6 May 1948 that

the Mandatory Government appoint a neutral governor to conduct the affairs of the City and protect the

Holy Places. However, the appointed Governor soon resigned his post because he had failed in his recon¬

ciliation attempts.

79

The Arabs were about to achieve victory in Al-Quds after 15 May, 1948 but they missed that chance

when the first truce was announced. This enabled the Zionists to reconsider their position and launch a new

attack. Then the second truce was declared and it put an end to the fighting.

The United Nations entrusted Count Falk Bernadotte, the U.N. mediator, with the task of finding a

future settlement to the conflict in Palestine, which would guarantee the safety of the Holy Places.

Bernadotte’s proposals on Al-Quds, which were part of an overall plan for a settlement of the Palesti¬

nian question, were submitted to the U.N. Security Council on 8 July, 1948. In a nutshell, his proposals sug¬

gested the annexation of A1 - Quds to the Arab zone and the granting, to Jewish communities of auton¬

omous municipal councils in addition to other arrangements for the safeguard of the Holy Places. Accord¬

ing to him, «Al-Quds was the centre of the Arab zone and any attempt to isolate it politically or otherwise

from that zone would bring about enormous difficulties».

Although the International Mediator returned afterwards to the Internationalization Plan, particularly

when the balance of power tilted in favour of the Zionists, his initial stand led to his murder by the Zionists

on 17 September, 1948.

Then came the ceasefire agreement of 30 November 1948 and the armistice agreement of 3 April 1949

to consecrate a de facto partition of Al-Quds on the basis of the positions of both sides in the Holy City.

When the Arab delegates met the Reconciliation Committee (constituted by a U.N. Resolution on 11

December 1948 in order to find a solution to the Palestinian Question in general and to work out a perma¬

nent plan for the internationalization of the Al-Quds zone in particular), they approved the idea of total in¬

ternationalization of the Al-Quds zone provided that the unity of the City and the integrity of the Holy

Places were preserved. The Israeli side presented their proposals on the basis of maintaining the status quo

of the City and limiting the internationalization process to the Holy Places within the Old City Walls. The

Reconciliation Committee managed to draft a plan that recognized the status quo and entrusted the Arab

and Israeli authorities with the administration of the sectors under their respective control. The draft plan,

however, did not include any reference to cancelling the internationalization resolution, but it did state very

clearly that neither of the two sides had the right to make the City its capital.

The plan was rejected by Arab countries - with the exception of Jordan - and by the Israeli side. The

U.N. General Assembly also rejected the plan on 9 December, 1949 because it had deviated from the ini¬

tial idea of internationalization. However, taking into account the wishes of public opinion in general and

those of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in particular, the U.N. General Assembly adopted, on the

same date, i.e. 9 December 1949, a resolution reaffirming its intention to submit the zone of Al-Quds to an

international system of regulations that would ensure the safeguard of the Holy Places within and outside

the City Walls. The General Assembly, once again, entrusted the Trusteeship Council with the elaboration

of the «Statute of Al-Quds».

The Trusteeship Council completed the formulation of the statute (43 articles) and adopted it. But

while the Council was debating the basis and principles of internationalization, the Israeli Parliament

(Knesset) issued a decree onllDecember, 1949, proclaiming Al-Quds capital of Israel. This decision was in

conformity with Israel’s policy of «fait accompli» and constituted a challenge to the international commun¬

ity. In fact, international law and practice provide that the provisional nature of any occupation does not

grant the occupier the right to have any jurisdiction or permanent authority in the occupied territories nor

the right to effectuate any changes in the legislations and laws, nor in the economic, financial, social and

cultural status of these territories.

The Trusteeship Council remonstrated about the Israeli measures and submitted the amended draft

plan to the U.N. General Assembly at its special session on 14 June, 1950. The United Nations, however, did not consider the Trusteeship Council report on the pretext that it was

occupied with other international issues. The Arab delegations to the General Assembly refrained from

submitting any draft resolutions which might impair the previous internationalization resolutions or the Sta¬

tute of Al-Quds adopted by the Trusteeship Council. The Arabs feared that such an action might lead to an

approval of a definite partition of Al-Quds.

80

Thus, the question of Al-Quds, like the whole question of Palestine, was shelved and never discussed at

the following U.N. sessions. In other words, the question was still there but the resolution concerning it had

to be implemented as one among many other resolutions on the Palestinian question. In the meantime,

Israel continued to apply the policy of «fait accompli» and to challenge the United Nations resolution on

internationalization. It started by moving the government seat from Tel Aviv to Al-Quds and then the

Knesset was moved to provisional premises in 1952 (a special building for it was completed on 30 August,

1966). These measures were part of a plan to mover all the ministries and other government offices to the Holy City.

The majority of States, however, refused to set up their embassies in Al-Quds. But Israel made the

ambassadors present their credentials in the Holy City and even started to organize a military parade in the

City in May each year disregarding the Security Council’s aversion and disapproval of the measure.

To consolidate their position in the new part of Al-Quds, the Israeli occupation authorities took several

measures in the period from 1948 to 1967, which aimed at the judaization of the City after forcing its Arab

population to emigrate. Those were part of a series of measures taken against the occupied territories. The

authorities pretended to have taken them in compliance with the Law of 31 March, 1950 on Absentees’

Property. Under this law they confiscated all the property of the Palestinian refugees who had been forced

to leave their homes as well as the property of the Arab citizens who had remained under Israeli rule but had

to change their places of residence. The Law comprises some very strange provisions which were formu¬

lated in such a way as to permit the authorities to confiscate the maximum of Arab land. It was estimated

that Arabs owned 80% of the land in the new part of Al-Quds in addition to two thirds of the buildings there.

The Israeli authorities denied the refugees the right to return in compliance with the U.N. General

Assembly resolution 194 of 11 December 1948. The refugees from Al-Quds alone reached 70,000 (the

population of Al-Quds at the end of 1946 was 150, 590 Arabs and 102, 520 Jews). At the same time the au¬

thorities opened the Holy City to Jewish immigration and the Jewish population reached 190,000 just be¬

fore the 1967 war.

The image of the new part of Al-Quds after its occupation by Israel from 1948 to 1967 is a striking evi¬

dence of the horrible dimensions of the Zionist plan reserved for the Holy City. The Arab quarters which

once covered most of the City have been evacuated of their inhabitants. Muslims and Christians alike. The

mosques and churches in the City on longer resound with the prayers of the faithfull. They have been de¬

serted. The City has acquired a purely Jewish character and looks more like an occidental town. It has lost

everything that linked it with its history or with Islam and Christianity. Al-Quds is no longer what it was but

an entirely different city!

81

82

B. AL - QUDS AND THE ISRAELI MEASURES OF «ANNEXATION»

AND «JUDAIZATION» SINCE 1967

The question of Al-Quds made news once again on 5 June, 1967, after it seemed for some time that a

curtain had been drawn over it. The Israeli authorities started to gain a foothold in the occupied territories

in order to reserve to themselves all the territorial and political gains they made through the war. They also

wanted to avoid committing themselves to the U.N. resolutions and international practices. Thus, when the

second part of Al-Quds was occupied, the City was subjected to the same modifications that Israel had re¬

served to all Arab occupied territories. However, because of the special importance of Al-Quds in Zionist

thinking, the changes in the City were carried out more rapidly. Immediately after occupation, the Israeli

authorities proceeded to implement the plan they had prepared in advance. The aim was to evacuate the

Arab inhabitants of the City, change its features, ensure its judaization and then make it capital of Israel.

Therefore the government set up the so-called Al-Quds comittee and on the pretext of unifying the

City, pulled down the new wall separating the two parts of the City. (The wall had been erected after 1948 in

order to stop the snipers’ operations in the area). Teddy Kollek was then appointed mayor of the unified

City. The Ministries still operating in Tel-Aviv were moved with their staff to the Holy City.

While the Israeli aggression was being discussed by the United Nations (at its extraordinary session of

17 June), Israel made a series of decisions concerning the Holy City. The decisions aimed to annex the Arab

part of Al-Quds as well as the area surrounding it and put them under direct Israeli rule. They also aimed to

isolate the City from its Arab environment and to eliminate the Arab presence there by applying the Israeli

administrative and judicial systems and by taking all necessary measures to ensure the City’s judaization.

The Israeli decision and acts constituted a violation of international law and conventions which forbid

occupation authorities to modify the laws or impose new ones in occupied territories.

Israeli decisions concerning the annexation of Al-Quds(1) to Israel were taken at the same time as prac¬

tical measures were going on in the field. The measures started sometimes before and sometimes after the

decisions, depending on the obstacles or new developments the Zionist entity was facing in this connection.

However, the first decrees were issued about two weeks after the end of fighting in order to provide a legal

cover for the practical measures of annexation already taken by the Israeli military authorities. Thus, on 27

June 1967, the Knesset ratified a draft law submitted by the government which amended the 1948legislation

on «Regulations of Authority and Jurisdictions Under the new law, the occupation authorities granted

themselves the right to annex by simple decree whatever they deemed appropriate from the «Land of

Israels The next day, i.e. 28 June 1967, the government issued a decree stipulating the application of the

«State legal, judicial and administrative systems» in an area of 70,000 dunums (630,000 acres). This in¬

cluded the entire Old City of Al-Quds in addition to a large area surrounding it, which extended from Sor

Baher and Bit Safsaf in the.south to Galandya village and airport in the north and from Bit Hanina in the

west to the villages of Tor, Annata and Ram in the east. In the area lived 100,000 Arabs.

When the Knesset approved the amendments of the legislation on «Regulations of Authority and Juris¬

diction^ it also ratified amendments of the Municipal Law in order to provide for the inclusion of the Old

City in the area of jurisdiction of the municipal Council of Jewish Al-Quds. The Law stipulated that the

Minister of the Interior could, «at his discretion and without and previous inquiry, announce the extension

of any municipal area to include a Zone defined by a decree issued in compliance with the said legislation on

Authority and Jurisdictions The following day i.e. on 28 June 1967, the Minister of Interior published a de¬

claration in the Official Gazette announcing the extension of the municipal zone of Al-Quds. This declara¬

tion announced the annexation of all the zone defined by a previous government decree, to the municipal

area of the City thus bringing it under the supervision of the Israeli Municipal Council. In this way, accord¬

ing to Israeli Laws, the Arab part of Al-Quds became part of Israel and was integrated in the «everunified» Greater Al-Quds.

( 1 ) See Israeli legislation for the annexation of Al-Quds, by Sabry Jaris, in Palestinian Affairs, issue 106, July

1980, in addition to writings by Ruhi Al-Khatib.

83

Then followed the dissolution of the Arab Municipality of Al-Quds and its annexation to the new

Municipal Council. The authorities, however, tried to convince some Arabs to join the Municipal Council

which was presided by Teddy Kollek, but they failed due to the collective opposition of the Arab inhabitants

of the City. Thus, the appropriation of the City could not be masked with «cosmetics».

A new legislation was also passed in 1968 called the «Law on Administrative and Legal Regulations»

which aimed to make the Arab population adapt to the annexation process. The occupation authorities

thought that, by granting the Arabs a few partial gains, they would convince them to disregard the ongoing

judaization of their Holy City. Several articles in the new legislation, for instance, dealt with problems such

as absentee landowners’ property and organization of companies and partnerships. The legislation was

complemented and amended in 1973. The same year witnessed an amendment of the Knesset decision to

include the Arabs in municipal elections so as to obtain a de facto recognition of the annexation of Al-Quds.

Then followed a decision threatening those who refused to participate in the elections. In the same context,

we may mention the amendment of the 1948 legislation on absentee landowners by a legislation passed in

1973 providing for the payment of compensation for absentees’ property. Article 14 of the legislation fixed a

period of three years for the assessment of applications for compensation. The Israeli authorities, however,

were obliged to amend the law once again in 1976 and extend the deadline for compensation requests due to

Arabs’ failure to respond to the provisions of the law and their refusal to file their applications. This collec¬

tive or semi-collective and daring resistance of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories was only

one aspect of the global struggle of the people in different fields. This resistance led to the failure of the law

which aimed to make the Arab population adjust to the annexation process or keep quiet about it.

However, the Zionist enemy proceeded with the measures it had decided. These measures were

crowned with the «A1-Quds legislation passed by the Knesset on 31 July 1980. The Law stipulated the fol¬ lowing:

1. Al-Quds, whole and unified, shall be the Capital of Israel.

2. Al-Quds shall be the seat of the President, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court.

3. The Holy places shall be safeguarded against any desecration or interference of any kind as well as

against any act that might hamper the access of any religious community to their Holy places or that

might affect the sacred aspect of these places.

4. The government shall attend to the development and prosperity of Al-Quds, as well as the well-being of

the population through the allocation of special funds and more particularly by providing the Municipal¬

ity of the City with a special annual grant to be approved by the Knesset Finance Committee.

Considering the radical character of this legislation, it is assumed that it would become, according to

the constitutional procedures in force, part of the Israeli constitution when it is drawn up. The adoption of

this legislation constitutes another step in the process of the judaization of Al-Quds. The Israeli annexation

procedures, whether at the practical or the legislative level, have been continuous ever since the Israeli

occupation of the City. The latest legislation simply comes to consecrate both the earlier and the ongoing

annexation procedures. Subsequent to the Knesset decision, the Smith Institute carried out an opinion poll

concerning the future of the occupied territories in general and Al-Quds in particular. The poll showed that

the vast majority was not ready to make any concessions in the Arab part of Al-Quds in exchange for

«peace» with Jordan. In fact, only 5% approved making partial concessions in the City while only 2%

agreed to give up the City for peace. A comparison with an opinion poll carried out in 1977 shows the de¬ velopment of a trend towards a harder line.

C. ZIONIST SETTLEMENT AND JUDAIZATION OF AL-QUDS

The Zionist plan for the establishment of Israeli settlements in Palestine and the evacuation of the Arab population did not start with the 1967 aggression nor with the successive governments of Israel since

1948. The whole Zionist philosophy for the occupation of Palestine is based on those two principles. The

settlements sprang up to form Zionist isles that soon changed, by resorting to force, into a State in 1948.

Then the State adopted the policy of settlements as its basic function and major task. To complete the

population expansion, the leaders of Israel proceeded to plan for the the geographical expansion of the

84

1 Boundaries of the Arab Municipality of Al-Quds before the 1967 War.

2 Boundaries of the Municipality of Al-Quds after the annexation deci¬

sion in 1967.

1 2

85

State. After the 1967 aggression, Israel refused to return to its borders of 4 June, for several alleged security,

economic and religious considerations. To consecrate this territorial expansion, the authorities created de¬

nse settlement entities in some Arab occupied territories. To remove the 1967 borders, for instance, they set

up more than 90 new settlements of different kinds and sizes: (agricultural settlements, industrial villages,

urban and municipal centers in addition to the Nahab camps). This settlement policy was called «the creep¬

ing annexation of Arab territories. The settlement operations either took place at the official level under

government guidance or as government-sponsored informal settlement activities led by extremist groups such as Gosh Imonim.

Obviously, the primary and ultimate aim of the settlements has been to provide the necessary condi¬

tions for complete judaization, including the deportation and replacement of the Palestinian population.

We could, however, discern other additional objectives which take into account the security, strategic, de¬

mographic and economic requirements for the consecration of the occupation and the protection of the sta¬

tus quo against commando operations, large-scale wars or mass movements and uprisings. Furthermore,

the settlements’ aim has been to harass the civil population and incite people to leave the country.

So the Israeli government and other official bodies concerned with settlements attached great import¬

ance to settlement operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip within a plan which had for its primary

and ultimate objective the evacuation of the Palestinian population and the annexation and judaization of

Arab territories. The plan also had other objectives concerned with military, strategic, political and econo¬

mic considerations. Among such considerations was the creation of certain entities which the Israeli lead¬

ership unanimously believe they should not be affected in the event of a future settlement of the Palestine question.

The Likud government, in fact, considered the occupied Palestinian territories as «liberated» territor¬

ies and an integral part of Israel. Settlements, therefore, had to be established in these territories in order to

complete their judaization process. Furthermore Israel never committed itself, within the framework of the

Camp David Accords, to removing the settlements set up in the West Bank and the Gaza which are the terri¬ tories proposed for the establishment of a self-government authority.

There was strong controversy over what really was agreed upon at Camp David concerning Israeli set¬

tlements. Was freezing the construction of new settlements to extend over the three months’ period re¬

served for the negotiation of a separate Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement or for the period of the proposed

tripartite negotiations on the conditions of self-government? Moreover, there was no agreement on any¬

thing concerning the demographic or land expansion of existing settlements during the immediately follow¬

ing period or the transition period. What did happen in practice, however, is a continued all-out expansion of the settlements.

The question of settlements in Al-Quds and its suburbs has assumed special importance since 1967. All

trends in Israel have agreed to hold on to Al-Quds and approved the idea that settlement in the city should

aim at its judaization in order to make it the real capital of the State of Israel. Therefore, the Israeli author¬

ities have planned to bring 250,000 new Jewish immigrants or more to the Holy City. They have, also, plan¬

ned to extend the settlement beyond the borders of present Al-Quds to cover an area extending to the bor¬

ders of Ramallah, Bayt Lahm and Al-Khan-Al-Ahmar. In other words, they have planned to transform the

Arab part of Al-Quds into an island in the middle of a «Jewish sea». This will eventually deeply root the

Zionist transformation of the City, consecrate Israel’s sovereignty and definitively separate the City from the Arab area.

As early as June 1967, a new plan for the whole City of Al-Quds was elaborated by an Israeli «High

Technical Committee». The plan integrated the two parts of the City. At the same time Israel tried to legal¬

ize the procedure. So, Teddy Kollek, the mayor of the City, constituted an advisory committee which he

called «the Special Al-Quds Committees The committee was composed of 42 architects and experts from

19 countries on the pretext that Al-Quds was a City of special significance which extended beyond the bor¬

ders of Israel. In order to conceal the real objective of Israel, the Committee discussed, inter alia, Arab-

Jewish relations, peaceful co-existence of the two peoples as well as religious activities in the City. A sub-

86

committee of the Special Committee on Al-Quds convened an International Symposium on Al-Quds in the

Year 2000». More than 20 experts in town planning participated in the symposium to consider and discuss

the new architectural plan of the City in addition to programs and designs for the «development of theCity».

A group of Israeli designers presented to the Symposium sketches of a plan for the City. The sketches fo¬

cused on the Old City and the surrounding area. They covered 10% of the whole City mainly in the town

centre where the Holy Places are situated. The designers claimed that the sketches permitted the develop¬

ment of the area as part of the unified City while, at the same time, preserving the City character and perso¬

nality. Yet the real objective of the plan was to destroy the character and personality of Al-Quds. The

Israelis knew that they could not proceed with the judaization of the City as long as it Kept its Arab-Islamic

character and personality. The Israeli plan for redesigning the City centre included the following elements:

— Surrounding the Old City walls with a big garden and covering up these walls with trees and roses.

— Exposing whole sections of the Sulayman Wall.

— Removing all the old dilapidated buildings and the poor quarters. — Building a commercial district in the City centre to cover 2700 dunums (243 acres) and extending from

the Maaman Allah Muslim cemetery in the west to the walls of Al-Quds and the district of Wad-Al-Jawz

in the east, and from the Municipal Hospital on the Jaffa road in the north to the railway station in the

south(1)

Israel proceeded with the implementation of the new architectural plan in Al-Quds on the pretext that

it had been prepared by outstanding international architects. The plan raised a wave of world criticism be¬

cause its aim was to destroy a large number of Arab dwellings and buildings within the City walls on the plea

that they were too crowded, unhealthy and in need of replanning. But, in fact, the plan aimed at changing

the City’s historic and religious character. The plan was then postponed to late 1974 when the occupation

authorities decided to table it for discussion once again. As a preliminary step for implementation of the

plan, the authorities convened the second conference on Al-Quds (late 1974) and then the third conference

(late 1975) with the participation of world experts on town planning, education and art history.

The apparent purpose of those conferences was to study the geographic set-up of the Holy City and to

make recommendations for its future planning taking into account the preservation of the City’s historic

and religious character as well as its educational and cultural requirements.

It is important to note, however, that the participants were among the supporters of Israel and did not

represent any international organization or any independent technical or architectural institution. Despite

the Israeli information efforts to grant the Conference an international dimension, the Conference deci¬

sions were not objective. They were indeed in contradiction with the basic principles of respect for the his¬

toric, religious and artistic values of cultural heritage.

Yet Israel has implemented its programmes for the «development» of Al-Quds within and outside the

ramparts in spite of Arab protest and complaints.

1. Within the City remparts or the Old City:

Work started with the building of a new quarter (Harafaa ha yahudi) within the Old City walls and in

the Al-Sharaf Quarter for 600 Jewish families (3500 - 5000 inhabitants) to replace the 6000 Arab inhabitants

who used to live in the two quarters. The work was carried out by a special committee called «Committee on

the Restoration and Development of the Jewish Quarter». The Committee evicted Arab families and built

new houses for the Jewish immigrants. Moreover, part of the area was reserved for public buildings, parks

and a commercial centre.

( 1 ) The project includes, inter alia, the following Arab districts: -

Bab Al-Sahirah, Bab Al-Amud, Al-Sheikh Jarrah, parts of the districts of Al-Misrarah, Saad and Said, Bab Al-Khalil and the

Jaffa Road, the Square of Al-Saah, Al-Manshiyah and Maaman Allah, Jamiyyat Al-Shubban, the Italian Hospital and Al-

Maksubiyah. All these are historical residential areas which constitute an extension of the Old City. Any modification of their

features would entail a total disfigurement of the Old City itself. They must therefore be kept as they are.

87

The building operation of the Jewish Quarter was carried out on a large scale. The Ministry of Housing

allocated a big budget for the project. But the whole operation turned out to be a disfigurement of the City

as a whole and the Jewish Quarter itself in particular. In fact, the Old Jewish Quarter had always been part

of the Old City and contributed to its character and personality.

That was just the beginning of a plan to change the features of the Old City. It was intended to test

world reaction in order to decide the rhythm of implementing the plan. But due to strong denunciation by

both the Islamic and the Christian worlds as well as fierce resistance from Palestinian Arabs, the Israeli lead¬

ership was obliged to slow down the implementation of the plan in the Old City. Accordingly, the author¬

ities concentrated their efforts on evacuating the old houses on the pretext that they were about to collapse,

and they continued to harass the population using different means to force Arabs to leave the City. The

Vatican expressed deep concern at the imminent danger of the emigration of a large number of Christians

who used to live in the quarters of Al-Nasara, Bab Al-Hadid, Bab Al-Khalil and Bab Al-Magharibah.

While the operations to remove the old quarters - as had been the case for the districts of Al-

Magharibah and Al-Sharaf and the Jewish district - were temporarily suspended, the implementation of the

Israeli policy itself continued through the so-called Green Belt project. The project consisted in removing *

the old quarters and historic cemeteries beyond the City ramparts. The Belt was called Wolfson Park after

the American Wolfson who had donated most of the project funds.

In 1970 began the operation to evacuate the Arab inhabitants living in the quarters near the City ram¬

part. The authorities claimed that the operation was part of a plan to ameliorate the City. At the same time,

the process of judaization was accelerated so much that the area outside the rampart (Salwan, Ayzariah,

Bab Al-Khalil, Bab Al-Amud and Jabal Al-Zaytun) was declared a special green zone.

The project was inaugurated at the beginning of 1974 with the transformation of 30 dunums of land fac¬

ing the City rampart near Haifa Gate (Bab Al-Amud) into a park. The authorities claimed that the land be¬

longed to nobody.

Teddy Kollek declared that the project was one of a series concerning the Old City. All along the ram¬

parts, stone seats would be set up for people to rest so that the area could be used for meetings, lectures,

visits and excursions. He added that the 30 dunum - area of Bab Al-Magharibah just outside the City ram¬

parts would be changed into a public park to be called «the Peace House».

At the end of 1975 was launched a fund-raising campaign for the establishment of a big park in the Al-

Omaryah Quarter to be called «the Freedom Bell» park. The park would cover a large area near the railway

station in Al-Quds, as part of the main project for the area surrounding the City ramparts. It was inaugu¬

rated in January 1976 (on the occasion of the celebration of the Second Centenary of U.S. Independence).

There remains no doubt, however, that the main purpose of these projects has never been the amelioration

of Al-Quds but rather the judaization of the City and the expropriation of the Palestinian Arabs’ land and

dwellings in order to force their owners to leave the Holy City.

2. Settlement outside the City remparts:

We have said before that the settlement plan has taken into account military objectives in addition to

the building of settlement facilities. The planning operation started just after the 1948 War .Considering the

possibility of renewal of hostilities in the Holy City, the new quarters in occupied Western Al-Quds were

built to face the Arab zone all along the truce line. The buildings themselves were desigend as military stron¬

gholds with shell-proof walls and small windows to be used as lunettes, and concrete fortifications on the

roofs. Thus the buildings constituted a high wall facing the Arab side and a barrier to protect the construc¬

tions behind them from direct shelling.

All these preparations were tested during the 1967 War to occupy Al-Quds. After 1967, the newly-

occupied parts of the City were planned to meet purely strategic requirements. Thus a large number of Jew¬

ish residential areas were built to surround Al-Quds like a belt, link it with the centre of Israel and block any

exit from the Arab part of the City.

88

To consolidate this link, government committees entrusted with the elaboration and implementation

of settlement plans have concentrated their efforts on building settlements on the hills beyond the present

borders of Al-Quds within a circle that passes by the borders of Ramallah and Khan Al-Ahmar. These close

settlements are intended to constitute a background for the residential quarters so that the Arab part of Al-

Quds with its densely populated quarters is transformed into a little island in the midst of a «Jewish ocean».

This operation will eventually root the Zionist transformation of the City, consecrate Israel’s sovereignty

over it and definitively separate the Holy City from the Arab Zone. Moreover, this will harrass the Arabs

and force them to emigrate. The operation called the «expansion of Al-Quds» will divide the West Bank

into a northern and a southern parts without any geographical line to separate them. This means that the

security consideration which includes the geographical dimension is a major determining factor in the selec¬

tion of settlement sites in the area of Al-Quds.

By May 1977 (when the Likud party came to power in Israel), Al-Quds had been surrounded by an

enormous belt composed of more than 13 residential areas and settlements with tall buildings of concrete

(see appendix).

The settlement operation in Al-Quds continued at an accelerated pace. The City extension plans were

entrusted to several government departments and institutions such as the «Ministerial Committee on Al-

Quds Affairs», the Ministerial Committee on Housing, the Jewish Agency Settlement Department, the De¬

partment of «Israel» territories. Himnota Company (a branch of the sraeli National Fund Kirin Kemit) in

addition to the Municipality of Al-Quds. During the ten years of occupation, 12,840 housing units were

built in the new quarters of Al-Quds. The Holy City as well as the road leading to it were among the top de¬

velopment priorities at the financial and expansion levels.

In late 1975, a committee was set up to study the intensification of settlement in Al-Quds through build¬

ing new housing units in the old quarters of the City. The committee proposed the building of 54,000 hous¬

ing units in the following ten years.

Another plan was disclosed, with the aim of continuing to set up settlements and residential areas

around the Holy City; the purpose being to erect a belt of settlements that would «throttle Al-Quds». The

settlements would accommodate 25,000 to 50,000 inhabitants and extend the Jewish settlement in Al-Quds

to Gush Asayun and Karyat Arbaa in the south, and from Al-Quds to Khan Al-Ahmar in the east.

Before the labour party withdrew from office in May 1977, future settlement plans had been elabo¬

rated. Some of those plans concerned Al-Quds particularly the expansion of the City. It had been decided,

for instance, to build a new international highway (and possibly a railway line) between the coast and Atarut

via Latrun. The highway would extend to the north, parallel to the present road leading to Al-Quds. Settle¬

ments would be built along the highway on the lands of Jabal Al-Tawil (Long Mountain) east of Al-Bira, the

lands of the Jabaa village north-east of Al-Quds and the lands of the Arab Annata village, 18,000 more

housing units would be added in the new Jewish quarters. Thus, the Israeli enclosure of the Holy City would be consolidated and the West Bank split into two parts.

As a result of Likud’s coming to power in Israel on 17 May 1977 and the intensification of settlement

operations in the occupied territories, which reflects Likud’s attitude towards the future of these territories,

the area of Al-Quds witnessed the emergence of new entities such as the Kafarut settlement in the Latrun

area which was added to the previous Mod Ya’in settlement. Moreover, three other projects have been de¬

veloped for the expansion of Al-Quds. The first one provides for the setting up three settlements at the entr¬ ance of the City namely Jafa’out, Maalyat Adomim and Afrat.

It also provides for the completion of the residential suburbs surrounding Al-Quds. The second project

provides for building two towns beyond the City borders; one in the lower Bayt Hurun and the other in up¬

per Bayt Hurun in the south of Jabal Al-Khalil (Mount Hebron) near Samu’a. The third project provides'for

building four settlements in Jafa’ut besides expanding the present settlements in Gush Assayun.

The purpose of setting up the latter centres is to ensure the judaization of the whole area in the future, to become a solid defence line for the Al-Quds area.

89

The political negotiations between Israel and Egypt led in general to the acceleration of the settlement

movement. Speaking about the future settlement plan, Aryal Sharon, Minister of Agiculture and Chairman

of the Ministerial Committee on Settlement Affairs, said «we have to accelerate the building operations

around Al-Quds and let the Arabs develop as they wish. But if we want to have a real guarantee to retain

Al-Quds, we have to raise the Jewish population of the City and its suburbs to one million by the turn of the

century». The Weizmann plan (or plan of the Defence Ministry) of late 1979 was based on two ideas:

First, the intensification of settlement around Al-Quds to consecrate the Jewish character of the City

and then to reduce contact with the Arab population through building communication routes to link Al-

Quds with the three urban centres to be set up in the area, namely Tal Jafa’out, Maalyat, Odomim and

Afrat. These centres have, in fact, been started in the form of settlement points which the plan aims to ex¬

pand. Up to 1980, the following settlement centres had been built in the greater Al-Quds area in addition to

those built previously: Takwa’a (south east of Bethlehem), Jia’aun (east of Karyat Al-Jib), Ma’alyat Udu-

mim B (on the land of Karyat Annata) Ma’alyat Udumim C (Ayn Samish) east of Al-Quds, Rosh Hilu (Ras Bayt Jala) and Jia’aum B (area of Al-Jib) north east of Al-Quds.

The implications of Israeli planning and settlement projects are very serious especially as the sponsor¬

ing agencies give priority to the intensification of settlement in the Al-Quds area. These agencies aim at en¬

closing the Holy City so that its exit and access routes will be surrounded with fortifications of Israeli settle¬

ments and Al-Quds will be cut off from its suburbs with an area, hundreds of meters wide, of tall Jewish

apartment buildings. The agencies also intend to stop Arab development in the City and its suburbs. Thus

while the Holy City is witnessing a rapid increase in Israeli installations with the attendent services and set¬

tlement facilities, the Arab housing movement has fallen behind as a result of pressure and obstacles laid by

the occupation authorities in order to force the Arab citizens to emigrate, and to replace them by Jewish

immigrants. This, in fact, is the core of the Zionist scheme. In this connection, we must emphasize the insig¬ nificance of Arab and Islamic assistance.

D. Evacuation of the Arab population of Al-Quds

It is obvious that the objective of Jewish settlement in Al-Quds is to change the demographic structure

that had prevailed in the area until 1967. In fact, the Jewish population of the City increased from 100,000to

190,000 in 1967 to 250,000 in 1976. Further increases are planned. According to an ad-hoc Government

Committee report, the population of Al-Quds will reach approximately 530,000 inhabitants in 1992 (75% of

them should be Jewish). However, figures show that the increase of Jewish population has been accompa¬ nied by Arab emigration from the City.

The Arab population of the Old City of Al-Quds was 70,000 inhabitants in 1948 and reached only 90,000 in 1976. This growth is insignificant if we consider that the growth rate of the Palestinian population

is among the highest in the world (4.2%). As this rate is double the Jewish population growth rate, the fi¬

gures clearly indicate that there was large- scale forced emigration. We should also note that the Israeli lead¬

ership dreads the natural growth of the Jewish and Arab population of Al-Quds. Unless put under control,

and proper measures are taken, they fear that the Jews will lose their majority because the Arab population

grows more rapidly. To maintain a demographic equilibrium, proposals have been made to raise the Jewish population annually by 4.4%: 1.9% as a result of natural population growth and 2.5% through immigra¬

tion . For this reason, the maj or task of Israeli officials has been focused on limiting Arab population growth

and taking all the necessary measures to accommodate new Jewish immigrants in order to reduce the differ¬

ence in numbers between Arabs and Israelis. Rabbi Mayer Kahan, founder of the extremist Jewish Defence

League, declared in May 1976 that all Arabs should be deported from the occupied territories. According to him, allowing 90,000 Arabs to remain in Al-Quds would make the City another Northern Ireland.

The occupation authorities, therefore, have taken a series of systematic measures to empty Al-Quds of its inhabitants. These measures are as follows:

90

1. Terrorism:

Terrorism has been among the first direct methods used by military authorities from the first days of the

occupation of Al-Quds. The authorities resorted to the same methods as the terrorist groups in Deir Yasin,

Kafr Qasim and other previously occupied territories. Al-Quds and other occupied territories have been

witnessing a continuous struggle in the form of riots, strikes and campaigns of solidarity and support in addi¬

tion to armed resistance against the settlers and occupation forces. The authorities always retaliate with rep¬

ressive measures in order to force the inhabitants to flee the country. /:

1 J&l

•;A J V.-3

lj_f

Maquette of the buildings erected after the demolition of the Al-Sharaf Quarter. The buildings are designed to house 600 Jewish families.

91

2. Destruction and wiping out of buildings:

The authorities have carried out a series of operations to demolish and blow up Arab property within

and outside the City ramparts. This has been another measure intended to force the population to evacuate

the City. Since the beginning of occupation, 135 houses and two mosques have been wiped out in the Quar¬

ter of Al-Magharibah in addition to about 200 houses and shops in the holy area. Entire villages have also

been raged to the ground in the Latrun area. They are the villages of Bayt Naba, Amwas and Yalo. Their

inhabitants wer not allowed to return. Other operations of demolition and blowing-up have been carried

out on the pretext that the owners had committed acts which the authorities consider to be disturbances of

public order or that the construction had not been authorized. More Arab houses have been demolished

and their inhabitants made homeless on the pretext of laying sewage-water pipes to replace old ones. Ex¬

cavations have caused many buildings to crack. Such buildings were eventually demolished as they were

threatening imminent collapse.

3. Economic pressure:

The authorities have also resorted to economic pressure as an indirect method to force the people to

evacuate the City. They have taken several measures with the aim of liquidating the Arab economy and fus¬

ing it into the Israeli economy. The Jordanian currency has been replaced by the Israeli Lira. Al-Quds has

been isolated economically from surrounding Arab towns and villages in an attempt to prevent the entry or

exit of any agricultural or industrial products while permitting the entry of Israeli products. Arab merchants

have been forced to abide by the provisions of the Israeli Commercial Law. Importation of goods has been

restricted to use Israeli ports and airports. The market of the Arab part of Al-Quds has been opened for

Israeli investment and Israeli commercial centres have been set up in that part of the City. Arab income has

been subjected to high taxes (over 20 kinds in addition to Army tax and the tax for the insertion of new¬

comers). Thus the Arabs have had to bear the sequel of occupation as well as deteriorating economic condi¬

tions especially as the taxes imposed on them lack a just basis for assessment and procedure. Nor do they

take into account the difficult living conditions of the Arab population. Moreover, to collect taxes, the au¬

thorities resort to arbitrary measures ranging from confiscation and impoundment to detention and de¬

portation.

Several measures concerning public facilities and services have been taken in order to intensify econo¬

mic pressure. The city water network has been connected to the Israeli Municipal network. Arrangements

have been made so that the Municipality of Al-Quds replaces the Arab Municipality as a shareholder in the

Electricity Company of the Al-Quds province and a member of the Company Governing Board. Finally, at

the beginning of 1980, the authorities decided to buy the Company licence within a year for alleged econo¬

mic and technical considerations. That again has been a measure, among many others, the authorities have

used in order to undermine Arab economic institutions.

Naturally, the different kinds of pressure exercised by the authorities, added to the limited impact of

Arab counter-measures, have incited and continue to incite large numbers of Arab young people to flee Al-

Quds to seek employment elsewhere. Arab emigration to the Americas may be the most serious phe¬

nomenon as it means a real exile for the emigrants and cuts them off from their homeland.

4. Confiscation of land and property:

The authorities have resorted to the confiscation ot land and property, an act naturally linked with the

settlement operation, in order to compel the population to leave the City of Al-Quds. I

The operation started in East Al-Quds immediately after the annexation of the City on 27 June 1967. A

census had been carried out and, as was the case in 1948, the authorities applied the Absentees’ Property

Act to all the absent Arab inhabitants of the newly-occupied sector and registered all the movable property

of the absentees. Thus the authorities seized vast areas of land and real estate and impounded the movables

and stocks of absentees. (Absentees’ land expropriated after 1948, and 1967, constitutes 84% of Arab land

in Al-Quds). On the other hand, the authorities allowed the Israelis, who had owned estates in the Arab

part of Al-Quds before 1948, to have recourse to courts in order to recover their property whereas the Arabs

who have estates in new Al-Quds are not allowed to recover or even visit them.

92

Israeli settlements around Al-Quds.

93

Drawing and photo of the fortresslike buildings erected by the Israelis around the City of Al-Quds.

94

To expropriate Arab land and property, the occupation authorities have based their decisions on an act

promulgated by the Mandatory government in 1943 (Property Act. Expropriation for Public Interest 1943).

Thus vast areas of Arab land and estates have been expropriated for alleged public services, such as hospit¬

als, schools, playing-grounds, public gardens, water- reservoirs and so on. But the confiscated property has

not been used for the above - mentioned needed services. The law on the creation of green zones in Al-Quds

has also been used as a means to expropriate land and real estate. Trees have been planted in a large part of

the area called Nabi Samuel and the land west of Shaafat (Ramot and Ramat Eshkol) within the framework

of the Jewish National Fund (Kareen Kimt) Tree Planting Programme in Al-Quds The land used, however,

belonged to the Arabs and most of it had been part of the no-man’s land until 1967. The authorities also

assert that a lot of the barren land suitable for building in the Arab part of Al-Quds or the villages surround¬ ing it has become a green zone and no construction permit can be granted to its owners.

Successive land expropriation and confiscation operations have been carried out by the authorities within or outside the City ramparts for alleged security considerations (confiscation orders are issued by the

Ministry of Finance without any legal control). Thus in 1968, about 4000 dunums (36,000 acres) were ex¬

propriated around Al-Quds to form the Belt surrounding the City from the north and the south.

The same year, 116 dunums (1044 acres) of land were confiscated within the City walls in the Al-

Maghariba Quarter, Bab Al-Silsila and the Jewish Quarter. The confiscated area included houses, commer¬

cial premises, schools, mosques, two shrines (Zawiyat Abu Madiyan Al-Ghut and Al-Zawiyah Al-

Fakhriyah), the ancient Bashura Suk and the shopping area (Bab Al-Silailah with its ancient buildings).

Moreover, 17 real estates were confiscated in 1969 within the City ramparts, some of which were adjacentto

the wall of Al-Haram Al-Sharif and included the ancient edifice of the Al-Tankiziyah School. Several

methods have been used to evict Arab inhabitants. Such methods include evacuation warnings with the

threat of force, making cracks in the buildings, bulldozing and launching mislading campaign which claim

that Arab residential areas are uninhabitable and unhealthy. In 1970, the authorities laid hands on 11680

dunums of land which belonged to ten Arab villages surrounding Al-Quds in the north, east and south, with¬

in the framework of the greater Al-Quds project. They claimed that the area was linked to Al-Quds at the

economic, political, employment and communications levels. In 1972, 5000 dunums of land belonging to

the Annata and Ayzariyah villages east of Al-Quds were expropriated. In 1974,70,000 dunums of land were

expropropriated for the Khan Al-Ahmar project. In 1975,500 dunums of Annata land were expropriated in

addition to thousands of dunums that belonged to the villages of Al-Ayzariah, Abu Dis (east of Ayzariyah)

and Bayt Askariyah in the district of Bethlehem. In 1976, large-scale expropriation operations were carried

out covering 3000 dunums of the land of Al-Bira, the land between the two villages of Jama’a and Al-Ram,

the land across the road linking Al-Quds to its suburbs and new quarters of Nabi Samuel and Jito, 200

dunums of the land of Abu Dis on Ariha road, 500 dunums in the Bayt Al-Jala area and 3000 dunums at Jab-

al Al-Tawil in Al-Bira on the Al-Quds - Ramallah Road. 1977 -1978, witnessed several operations of land

expropriation in the areas of Al-Bira, Gush Ashiyun, Atrut and Jabal Al-Mukabbar. In 1979,3000 dunums

were seized in the Khazaf and Jab’a villages as well as 15000 dunums in Abu Dis. A number of houses were

demolished in the Arab Al-Ram area. Several thousand dunums between Nafyeh Yacoub and Al-Tallah

Al-Firansiyah were expropriated. 300 dunums were enclosed as a site for the Afrat settlement near Gush

Ashiyun and in preparation for the construction of the Adumim B settlement. In 1980,2000 dunums of agri¬

cultural land were expropriated in Bayt Hanina, near Al-Quds on the pretext of building a new road be¬

tween Al-Quds and Tel-Aviv. 2500 dunums were also expropriated in the area of Niti Yaqub to complete the territorial link between Niti Yaqub and the north districts.

The Israeli occupation authorities have followed the same pattern in expropriating Arab land. They

first prohibit construction in the area, then they enclose it with barbed wire for alleged security reasons,

warn the inhabitants not to approach the area and finally start the settlement operations. For every exprop¬

riation operation, the authorities choose the position that serves Israeli strategy. Expropriated land encir¬

cles the remaining Arab population of Al-Quds and its suburbs to the north, east, west and south, within a

small area. Arab presence is thus threatened with decline and liquidation. The expropriation decision is

usually accompanied by a campaign against un-authorized Arab construction. The authorities fear the

threat of such construction to the Zionist project and to demographic equilibrium in the City.

95

5. Restrictions in the field of education:

We have noted in the previous chapters of this document that the Palestinian people resorted to educa¬

tion after the 1948 disaster in order to preserve its identity and conter the liquidation schemes it was facing-^

For this reason, the Israelis have imposed all sorts of restrictions on the population of Al-Quds in the field of

education in general, and higher education in particular in order to incite young people to leave the country.

After announcing the annexation of Al-Quds, the occupation authorities seized all the State schools

(30, including two secondary schools). They cancelled the Jordanian curricula and textbooks and replaced

them by the curricula and textbooks prescribed to Arab schools in the territories occupied since 1948. The

authorities closed the Arab Inspectorate and requested all members of the teaching staff to join the Israeli

education institutions controlled by the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Israeli Municipality of Al-

Quds. As the Arab staff refused to cooperate with the authorities, the State schools were opened by force.

New teaching staff were recruited but lacked the necessary qualifications. The authorities tried to extend

their control to private schools as regards the teaching staff, teaching curricula and financial resources. The

authorities prevented Al-Quds students from enrolling in the West Bank schools which continued to offer

«adjusted» Jordanian curricula. The education problem has become one of the major concerns of the Arabs

of Al-Quds and an object of Arab and international interest. Private schools and educational institutions

assumed greater importance as they refused to apply Israeli curricula, in spite of the authorities’ obstaclesto

Arab curricula and their censorship of relaledtextbooks. However government schools at the elementary

level (which is a crucial stage in the development of the pupil’s personality), continued to apply Israeli curri¬

cula. These curricula focus on the importance of the Jewish role throughout history, giving a picture which is

far removed from reality. They exaggerate the achievements of «Israel» in Palestine and present Israeli

occupation not as an act of confiscation but as a civilizing mission. At the same time Israeli curricula seek to

belittle the Arabs, weaken their self confidence, distort the achievements of Arab civilization and depict

Arab history as a record of disputes and its national revolutions as uncivilized acts. Al-Quds schools in

general suffer bad conditions of hygiene, high prices of textbooks, delays in printing and distributing such

books, lack of books in their libraries as a result of severe censorship, incompetence of inspection staff,

shortage of budgetary resources, neglect of vocational education and low salaries of the teaching staff.

Moreover, the authorities prevent Al-Quds students from enrolling in the higher institutes and faculties of

the West Bank to pursue their higher education. They take arbitrary measures against institutions of higher

education in Al-Quds as part of their policy to impede the access of Arab students to learning and training.

(The latest of such measures is the closure, on 16 March 1981, of the Al-Dis Faculty which represents the

nucleus of the University of Al-Quds).

Such obstacles naturally incite young people to emigrate or to organize their living conditions so as tofit

in with «Israeli» economic fields.

E. Excavations and acts of aggression against Holy Places

Occupied Arab territories have been subjected to Israeli criminal attacks on their religious, cultural

and civilizational heritage. The purpose of such attacks is to provoke the effacement of the character of

Palestine and of the identity of its people and to complete the judaization process. Al-Quds has borne the

brunt of these acts for its constitutes, with its Holy Places, monuments and distinctive cultural features, a

challenge to Zionist schemes, and a confirmation of Palestinian rights.

1. Excavations Beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque:

Even the British mandatory authorities respected the religious, spiritual, cultural and civilizational sta¬

tus of Al-Quds. They prevented the violation of any of its monuments or the introduction of any change in

its landmarks. They never allowed excavations to be carried out within the City ramports for fear they

would affect the safety of the Holy places and historic monuments and landmarks. Excavations were there¬

fore restricted to the southern parts of the City outside the ramparts.

2

1. Map of Israeli settlements built in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (Courtesy of H.R.H. Hasan Bin Talal, Crown Prince of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in «Palestinians, right to self-determination»). 2 and 3 - Pictures showing Israeli terrorism against the Palesti¬ nian people in the occupied territories. 4 - Israeli soldier standing upon an Arab house after razing it to the ground, in the City of Al-Quds.

3 97

4

For their part, the Israeli occupation authorities undertook, immediately after the occupation of the

Old City, systematic pillaging of religious archaeological and cultural relics, including the transfer of the

ancient and priceless Lashish manuscripts and the Dead Sea manuscripts, which are the most important tre¬

asures of the Palestinian museum, to the Israeli museum.

However, the most dangerous scheme that claims out attention is the plan of excavations underneath

the walls of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. These excavations are threatening the edifice with collapse. Moreover,

they constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the Mosque which is the first of the two Qiblas, the third

Holy Place after Makkah and Madinah and the place from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to

heaven. It is also the mosque whose precincts Allah has blessed and which the Hadith of the Prophet has

described as one of the three mosques to which journeys should be made. This is regarded as one of the most

dangerous challenges to be put out by the Zionist enemy to the Islamic world. Consequently, the Islamic

world cannot sit around idly while Al-Aqsa Mosque continues to be subjected, under Zionist occupation, to

attacks, violations and profanations.

The Israeli leaders with the guidance of clergymen and archaeologists, have defined the objectives of

excavations in Al-Quds as follows:

— to excavate the southern and western walls of Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Sacred Enclosure), along a dis¬

tance of 485 m as a step towards the excavation of the so-called «Wailing Wall». — to demolish and remove all the Islamic buildings in the excavations area, including the schools, mos¬

ques, markets and houses adjoining or near the entire wall.

— to seize the Sacred Enclosure and build the Great Temple.

However, the excavations carried out over the past century had failed to discover any scientifically con¬

vincing evidence of the Temple vestiges or those of the City of David or the Solomon era.

On 15 July, 1968, several groups of archaeologists from Israel and abroad started the first phase of ex¬

cavations in more than forty locations under the auspices of the Israeli Archaeological Department. The

most important of those excavations were carried out at the foot of the southern wall of the so-called

«Mount of the Temple» by Benjamin Mazar (Hebrew University) on behalf of the Excavation Association

in Israel. The area was 70 meters long from the foot of the southern wall of Al-Haram Al-Sharif to the back

of the southern part of Al-Aqsa, the Women’s Mosque, the Islamic Museum and the Al-Fakhryah Minaret.

The excavations were up to 14 m deep.

Mazar published the findings of the first phase of the mission work in a book entitled «Excavations in

Old Jerusalem». He considers those excavations to be the first stage of the Israeli master-plan to trace back the historical development of settlement in the City of Al-Quds.

It should be noted, however, that, despite the archaeological methods and techniques used, the ex¬

cavations are intended to serve the purposes of Zionist fanaticism and Israeli occupation and not to search

for objective facts. The authorities sponsoring the excavations have been seeking evidence to confirm the

Jews’ right to return to the Holy Land. They have totally ignored the other civilizations and used the excava¬

tions’ findings to support their religious and historical claims and allegations. This is clearly revealed by

Mazar’s book. Furthermore the excavations have been accompanied by acts of plunder, for commercial

purposes, of archaeological finds which are an Arab and Islamic property^ whose transfer from the occu¬ pied territory is prohibited.

The second stage of excavations was completed in 1969. It had covered an area 80 meters long which

extended northwards from the Wall of the Sacred Enclosure where the first stage had been left off to one of

the gates of the Enclosure (Bab Al-Magharibah), passing beneath a group of Islamic religious buildings

which belong to Al-Zawyah Al-Fakhryah. The third stage began in 1970, was resumed in 1975 and is still

going on. Excavations started under the old building of the Religious Court, went under five doors of the

( 1 ) On the excavations phases see: Arab and Islamic Al-Quds prepared by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry and submitted to the 1980

oic Islamabad Conference.

98

Sacred Enclosure and then over a distance of 80 m, under a group of religious, historic and residential build¬

ings (Mosques of Qayitbey and the Qattanin market and several ancient schools). The excavations are 10 to

14 m deep. The fourth and fifth stages began in 1973 and continued until 1974 at the back of the southern

wall. Excavations started under the south-eastern side of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the wall of the Sacred

Enclosure, going eastwards over a distance of 80 meters. They crossed the southern wall of the Enclosure

into the lower galleries of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Sacred Enclosure which they reached in four loca¬

tions: (i.e. beneath the Mihrab Al-Aqsa Mosque, under the Umar Mosque, under the doors adjacent to the

galleries beneath the Mosque and under the south eastern galleries). The sixth stage of excavations began in

early 1979 at a point in the middle of the eastern rampart of the City and the wall of Al-Haram Al-Sharif

(Bayt Al-Saiyda Mariyam and Al-Bab Al-Dhahabi). The seventh stage aims to go further down in the Al-

Buraq Square (also called the Wailing Square) which is contiguous to the west wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The purposes of the project, which was started in 1977, are: the annexation of other Arab lands adjacent to

the square, the demolition of their buildings and 9 meter-deep excavations (in fact, 200 estates in the area had been destroyed between 1970-1977).

It may be noted that these excavations have been carried out in the Old City and more particularly in

the area of Al-Haram Al-Sharif (minor excavations have been going on outside the City in Mount Zion and

at the foot of the Mount of Olives). The Haram area, however, enshrines the quintessence of Islamic,

Christian and Jewish traditions and is second to no other place in the world. Most of these excavations have

been carried out under the veil of search for easy access routes to the Wailing Wall with the aim of confirm¬

ing the alleged existence of the Solomon Temple in that area. Although the area of Al-Haram Al-Sharif

(which includes the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of Rock) covers one sixth of the City area within the

ramparts and is regarded, with its mosques and domes surrounded by minarets and walls, a sacred Islamic

shrine - this was also stated in the decision of the Committee on Mandatory Affairs in 1930 - the excavations

are still going on in defiance of all the UNESCO and the U.N. resolutions which have condemned them.

The reasons for such a condemnation are: the threat which these excavations constitute to the monuments

of Al-Quds, the transformation of the historical features of the City and the accompanying expropriation

measures. The Israeli government claims that, out of respect for academic freedoms, it does not feel enti¬

tled to stop the ongoing archaeological excavations, although these excavations would not have been under¬

taken without the approval and permission of the government. Similarly, while the excavations are

seemingly aimed at scientific discovery, they are, in fact, used as a means to provoke cracks in the residen¬

tial, commercial, religious and cultural buildings along with the aim of causing their collapse. The govern¬

ment will then demolish these buildings and evacuate their occupants, which is the fundamental part of

Israel’s greed. It has been confirmed that the excavations constitute a serious threat to a number of extreme¬

ly important historic edifices and have already caused the collapse of or cracks in such constructions as the

Ribat Al-Kurd (Kurd carvansary), Al-Jawharyah school, the Ottoman school at Bab Al-Qattanin, the

Qaytbey Minaret and the foundations and lower galleries of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in addition to a number

of houses of historical importance, which are part of Islamic religious endowments.

2. Violation of other Holy Places and archaeological sites:

Islamic and Christian Holy Places and ancient monuments in Al-Quds have been subjected to Israeli

acts of aggression ever since the occupation of the first part of the City in 1948. (Mamanallah cemetery in

New Al-Quds, some Christian cemeteries, the Dome of the Rock, and the churches of the Resurrection and

Notre-Dame). After the 1967 war and the fall of all Islamic and Christian Holy Places under Israeli occupa¬

tion, a number of shrines have suffered further acts of aggression and violation despite the authorities’

claims that complete freedom of worship and free access to the Holy Places are guaranteed. Examples of

such violations are numerous.

In addition to the threat caused to Islamic and Christian monuments by the excavation works, the fol¬

lowing acts have been perpetrated:

— Expropriation, confiscation, demolition and blowing up of the Waqf (religious endowment) buildings

adjacent to the west and south sides of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

99

— Occupation of Bab Al-Magharibah, one of the gates of Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and setting up of a military

checkpoint there.

— Seizure of the Tankazyah School, Al-Zawiyah Al-Fakhryah and the cemeteries of Bab Al-Rahma and

Al-Yusufiyah. These are all situated near Al-Haram and linked to an important part of the Islamic his¬

tory of Al-Quds.

— Organization of religious demonstrations in the Square of Al-Haram and in front of the entrance to the

Al-Aqsa and the Dome Mosques by Israeli soldiers, extremist organizations and religious groups. The

demonstrators insulted and molested the worshipers and desecrated the place by their unseemly con¬

duct and appearance.

— Carrying out deep excavations near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

— Declarations by clergymen and political leaders about the building of the Temple in the Al-Haram Al-

Sharif.

— Burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on 21 August, 1969. This act is the most telling example of Israel’s

aggression against Holy Places and cultural property in the occupied territories; an act intended to hurt

the feelings of any man who respects his heritage and sanctities.

— Impeding the enforcement of Islamic courts judgments and decisions.

— Ignoring the complaints of the Awqaf Department and the Islamic Commission.

— Impeding the building of Mosques.

— Repeated violations of the Church of the Resurrection (The biggest and oldest church in Al-Quds and

the whole world) and stealing of some of its ancient relics.

— Aggression against the Coptic Monastery, its monks and its property by Israeli police in 1970.

— Burning of some Christian centres and institutions in Al-Quds.

— Desecration of many Christian shrines by the authorities (Saint Georgeos Orthodox Monastery on

Mount Zion, Church of Notre-Dame de France, Nuns’ Convent, Monastery of the Benedictine Fathers,

Palace of the Apostolic Delegate and Clerical School).

— Seizure of ancient Christian cemeteries on Mount Zion.

— Annexation of certain Christian religious estates (Lands of the Al-Maslabah and the Al-Qatmun Quar¬

ters, Monks’ Vineyards between the Railway Station and King David Hotel, Schinler German School and

land and buildings of the White Russian Church) and pressure for the purchase of Notre-Dame Church.

— Campaigns of pressure, terrorism and aggression against many Christian clergymen (Monks of the Cop¬

tic Monastery, Archbishop Vasilius of the Orthodox Patriarchate and Archbishop Capucci).

— Restriction of religious freedom.

We must also recall here without departing from the Al-Quds subject, the acts of confiscation and de¬

secration of the Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi Al-Sharif in the town of Al-Khalil, acts perpetrated by the occupa¬

tion authorities. The shrine of Abraham is one of the most sacred places in Islam. Its confiscation and the

performing of Jewish prayers in it, as well as settlement around it are the peak of Zionist defiance of Islamic

religious feelings and of aggression against Islamic sanctities. We may conclude from such acts that the pre¬

dicament of the Holy Shrine of Ibrahim is an example of what may happen in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other

Holy Places. This is why, the acts perpetrated against the Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi Al-Sharif must be in¬

cluded in the Al-Quds file and placed in the forefront of the issues of the struggle against Zionist occupation.

3. Transformation of the features of Al-Quds:

Al-Quds is a valuable part of human heritage. Its landmarks bear witness to centuries of history. The

Holy City, however, is turning, under Israeli occupation and due to continued settlement projects and

100

Israeli planning, into a modern city similar to American and European metropolies. The Israeli drive is de¬

priving the City of its spirituality and Arab identity, ignoring the historic and religious nature of the area,

and overlooking the aesthetic aspect whose preservation was sought by all regimes throughout the City’s history.

Israeli settlement plans have granted priority to political and military considerations. Indeed, these

come second to judaization because the plans aim to consolidate Israeli sovereignty over the City. Other

purely materialistic considerations have been taken into account to please investors and tourists (who come

mostly from the United States). Such considerations include mammoth hotel and high-rise building pro¬

jects, the granting of permits for the construction of housing units of a style that disfigures the historic fea¬

tures of the City. More destructive still are the demolition and wiping out of historic and ancient sites and

quarters on the pretext of replanning the City. Add to these acts the excavation work and ensuing destruc¬

tion of buildings which are part of the heritage. This has further transformed the distinctive features of the City and weakened its Arab aspect.

The process has brought about a wave of criticism at international level and of appeals to safeguard the cultural and religious character of the City and to pull down all the multi-storey buildings which have been

erected on the hill-tops surrounding Al-Quds and which form at present the «ramparts of New Al-Quds».

The most striking example of the disfigurement suffered by the City has been the construction of apartment

buildings and hotels on the northern slopes of Mount Al-Mukabbar which overlooks Al-Quds from the

eastern side (where the Caliph Umar stopped and wrote the Uhdah Al-Umariyah). Such construction

dwarfs the City and obliterates its glorious historic memories. Some observers believe that the continued

implementation of mammoth units projects is bound to stifle the Holy City, whose loftiness dominated thousands of years of history, to total extinction.

The harshest criticism of Israeli violation of the Holy City monuments came from Kotcher, one of the

architects who had worked at the Al-Quds Planning Department the Holy City monuments came from

Kotcher, one of the architects who had worked at the Al-Quds Planning Department. He resigned in 1972

because of the method used to subject the City planning requirements to political and commercial consid¬

erations, without due regard for coordination between the city environment and its spiritual characteristics.

It had been an established practice in the history of Al-Quds to ensure maximum harmony between the

stone, colour, height proportions and design of the buildings, on the one hand, and the natural background

site, atmosphere, colours and topography, on the other hand. Such a wonderful harmony would be

achieved through the creative combination of the spiritual and the material dimensions of the City.

The author has accused the Israeli authorities of neglecting the heritage of the City which belongs to the

Middle East civilization and has become, for the Israelis today, a source of investment projects. The City’s

cultural, spiritual and material characteristics have been turned into commercial goods.

To complete the effacement of the City’s historic features, the authorities have replaced the Arabic

names of streets and squares by Hebrew names, despite the fact that all the replaced Arabic names were

linked to the Arab cultural heritage of the City. (e.g. Sulayman (the Legislator) Road has been changed into

Paratroopers’ Street, Tal Al-Shurfah into Jaba’at Hamiftar, while Bab Al-Magharibah is now called Rehub

Bayti Mahi and Harat Al-Sharaf has become Mishqaq Ladakh). Add to these changes the use of Hebrew for

road signs, mailing addresses, official public announcements, administrative documents, radio and televi¬ sion.

F. The Question of Al-Quds and International Resolutions:

We have noted that the Palestinian question in general and that of Al-Quds in particular had ceased to

appear on the agenda of the U.N. General Assembly since 1950. They were replaced by an item entitled

«Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Re¬

fugees in the Near East (UNRWA)». Obviously, this attitude was the result of the influence exerted by the

United States and the other Western countries in the Security Council and the General Assembly. Moreov¬

er, the situation in the Arab World and the Third World as a whole was not sufficiently ripe for the launching

101

of a successful campaign to reactivate the Palestinian issue, including the Al-Quds question, for inclusion in

the agenda of the U.N. General Assembly. For sometime, therefore, it seemed as though a curtain of obli¬

vion had been pulled down on the issue. In 1967, however, the Israeli occupation was extended to include

the eastern part of Al-Quds and the rest of Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip) in addition to the Sinai and

the Golan Heights. Soon, the occupation forces started to implement a plan for the annexation of the City in

defiance of the will of the International Community. Indeed, the International Community had refused to

tolerate any change in the status of Al-Quds through annexation or deprivation of its Arab and Islamic

identity or through judaization and transformation of its features to say nothing of the violations of its Holy

Places and historic monuments.

When the Israeli government decision to annex Al-Quds was tabled for discussion at the Extraordinary

Session of the U.N. General Assembly in 1967, it appeared that the vast majority of countries deplored the

Israeli measures in the Holy City. On 4 July 1967, the Assembly adopted resolution 2253 by 99 votes with20

abstentions expressing its deep concern about the situation prevailing in Al-Quds as a result of the measures

taken by Israel to change the status of the City. The resolution called upon Israel to cancel all the measures

taken and to refrain from any action that might affect the status of the City. The resolution also requested

the U.N. Secretary-General to report on the situation to the General Assembly and the Security Council.

The Secretary-General’s report of 12 July, 1967 included a letter from the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs

explaining some of the Israeli measures in Al-Quds but failing to indicate the nature of those measures or

Israel’s attitude as regards the compliance with resolution 2253. Consequently, the General Assembly

adopted resolution 2254 on 14 July 1967 by 100 votes withl8abstemtions.The Assembly expressed its deep

regret that Israel had failed to comply with resolution 2253. The Assembly reiterated its request to Israel to

cancel all the measures taken and to refrain from undertaking any action that might change the status of Al-

Quds. It also requested the U.N. Secretary-General to report on the situation to the General Assembly and

the Security Council.

The Israeli sources rejected the resolution(1). When Ernest Talman, the personal representative of the

U.N. Secretary-General, went to Al-Quds (21 August-3 September, 1967) on a fact-finding mission regard¬

ing the situation in the Holy City, he was met with the same determination for annexation and defiance for

the international resolution, on the part of Israeli officials. Israel claimed that it intended to unify the City in

order to bring about equality, facilitate services and guarantee the freedom of religious rites and practices.

It also claimed that the measures taken concerning the City neither restrained nor prejudiced international

rights or interests in the Holy City. Thus it became clear that the Israeli decision of annexation was irrevoc¬

able and non-negotiable. The Palestinian people in the City demonstrated their opposition to any measure

to extend Israeli sovereignty to the Arab City of Al-Quds whether through annexation or integration within

the State of Israel. Such an act constitutes a violation of the people’s right to self-determination as stated in the U.N. Charter and the Declaration of Human Rights.

Subsequent developments confirmed the conclusions of the Talman report to the General Assembly. Israel proceeded with its plan to change the character of Al-Quds, taking at the same time the legislative and administrative steps to complete the annexation process.

To this day, successive resolutions have been taken by the General Assembly and the Security Council,

deploring the Israeli measures for the annexation of Al-Quds and calling on Israel to refrain from any action

that might change the legal status of the City. Such action is considered null and void. Other U.N. resolu¬

tions have been adopted deploring Israel’s expropriation of Arab property and other violations of Human

Rights. But the Israeli authorities have turned a deaf ear to these resolutions and appeals and have persisted in their attitude of defiance of and indifference towards the United Nations Organization.

( 1 ) The appendix includes a list of major resolutions on the subject with their numbers and dates.

102

The United Nations action has not been restricted to the General Assembly and the Security Council

resolutions. It has extended to a large number of the U.N. organs and committees particularly UNESCO(1),

which has also adopted a number of resolutions and addressed a number of appeals along the same lines(2).

Apart from the United Nations corridors, most governments in the world have deplored, on several occa¬

sions, the Israeli measures for the annexation of Al-Quds, the violation of the Holy Palaces, the transforma¬

tion of the character of Al-Quds, the displacement of Arab inhabitants, the judaization of the Holy City, the

violation of human rights and Israel’s non-compliance with U.N. resolutions and disregard for the interna¬

tional community and the U.N. resolutions. In addition, most countries have called for the recognition of

the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people including its right to return, to self-determination and to the

establishment of an independent State of its own, and the recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organiza¬

tion as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Such statements and appeals have

been made by Summit Conferences of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Non-aligned Move¬

ment and the Organization of African Unity. They have also appeared in joint communiques in addition to

numerous world conferences which brought together many leaders and representatives of public opinion

from all over the world. The Israeli authorities, however, remained indifferent to all such statements, made

collectively or individually, and considered them merely ink on paper. They have persisted in their defiance

and continued to implement their plans for the judaization of the Holy City and the expulsion of the Palesti¬

nian Arab population. They have also persisted in considering the Holy City as the permanent capital of the

State of Israel.

In addition to those mentioned above, several other world authorities and international bodies have

closely followed the development of the situation in Al-Quds under Israeli occupation. They have consi¬

dered those developments a serious threat to the status of the Holy City which had remained open through¬

out history. They have expressed, in different ways, their concern and opposition to the measures taken by

Israel. Their attitudes have been based on political, religious and spiritual as well as historic, scientific and

( 1 ) The appendix includes a study on UNESCO resolutions and other measures concerning Al-Quds.

( 2 ) The appendix also includes a study on the resolutions concerning Al-Quds which were adopted by committees and bodies of the

U.N. General Assembly.

103

artistic considerations. However, the efforts made by those bodies have met with the same fate as the inter¬

national resolutions. Indeed, they have failed to convince Israel to put an end to the measures it has under¬

taken. Furthermore, the silence of a large number of world figures in the West, added to the reluctance of

the Western Press to take a firm stand against Israeli measures, have reduced, to some extent, the impact of

world protests against the Israeli violations. Yet we can say that international public opinion is virtually

unanimous in considering that Al-Quds concerns the whole world as a gift of history to mankind. Al-Quds

enshrines holy religious monuments and represents universal human values. World opinion also feels that

the Israeli measures expose the Holy City to the danger of destruction. Protests against such measures are

numerous and have been voiced by circles of different trends.

The question of Al-Quds concerns all Islamic peoples because the Israeli occupation constitutes a

violation of the Holy Places and an obstacle to the preservation of their character. Consequently, the

appeals made for the deliverance of the Holy City from Israeli occupation represent a humanitarian con¬

tribution of the Muslims to mankind as a whole and to all other religions. All Islamic meetings have dealt

with the Al-Quds issue in their resolutions or recommendations. The conferences of the Islamic Research

Academy in Cairo, those of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, of the Muslim World League

(Rabitat Al-Alam Al-Islami) and other Islamic organizations have emphasized the determination of Isla¬

mic States and peoples to work for the liberation of Al-Quds and Palestine. Those States and peoples have

pledged themselves to defend the Islamic, Arab and universal heritage and character of the Holy City and

the occupied territories. They have declared their rejection of any solution of the Palestinian question, that

fails to return Al-Quds to Arab sovereignty. They have also reaffirmed their support of the Palestinian peo¬

ple in its struggle to recover its legitimate rights and their recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organiza¬

tion as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

The Vatican has protested several times against Israeli plans to disfigure the City of Al-Quds. The Holy

See has expressed its concern at the acts of aggression committed against the Holy Places and the suffering,

the tragedies and the neglect to which the population of Al-Quds is subjected. The acts of aggression perpe¬

trated by the Israeli authorities against the clergy have brought about strong reactions from the Vatican. Af¬

ter the arrest and trial of Archbishop Capucci, the Pope issued a communique which stated that leaders of

the various religious communities in Palestine had been treated with respect during the periods of turmoil in

the Middle East and that the acts committed by Israel would exacerbate tensions in the already thorny situa¬ tion of the region.

Many Christian clergymen have voiced their support for the Vatican position. They have expressed

their concern not only at the acts of aggression committed against the Holy City but also at the pressure ex¬

erted on Muslim and Christian inhabitants to force them to flee the City(1).

Describing the outcome of the evacuation of the Arab population of Al-Quds, the Apostolic Delegate

in the Holy City said: «There will remain but a museum of religious relics and ornaments to be kept in glass

boxes as religious souvenirs, for religion itself will have died(2)».

( 1 ) Describing the consequences of Israel’s tightening grip over the City of Al-Quds, the Vatican journal wrote in an editorial article

on 22 March 1971, that the Christian and the Muslim inhabitants of Al-Quds were «forced to retreat by the Israeli housing expan¬

sionisms «In the long run, they will be compelled to look elsewhere for a future they have been unable to realize on the land of

their ancestors». The article called upon Israelis «to respect the rights of minorities which feel threatened in their existence and

development as a result of policies which seek to stifle them gradually». - Dassey Study (Op. Cit).

( 2 ) From an interview held by Dassey with the Archbishop on 23 September 1975.

104

1. Photo of Al-Zawiyah Al-Fakhriyyah (saint’s tomb and hospice) dur¬

ing demolition work.

2. Israeli bulldozer participating in the demolition of the Al-Sharaf Dis¬

trict.

3. Excavations adjacent to the all of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

4. View of the Bab Al-Khalil area outside the ramparts. Below is a

105

Arson of the Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israelis firing at worshippers in front of the Mosque of the Holy Rock.

Remains of Saladin Pulpit after the fire.

106

The United States position as regards Al-Quds is rather disturbing. In fact, Israel’s persistence in de¬

fying the international community on the Al-Quds issue is due to the special relationship between Israel and

the U.S. government. We note, however, that although the U.S. government continued to support Israeli

occupation, it took a firm stand as regards the issue of Al-Quds. It refused to recognize the annexation of the

Holy City(1\ as well as the measures taken by Israel to «change» the status of Al-Quds. It has considered

that the measures are provisional and can in no way affect the final status of the City. Moreover, the U.S.

government has approved all the U.N. resolutions condemning Israeli occupation of the Arab part of Al-

Quds^.

William Rogers, the American Secretary of State in December 1969, pointed out that the U.S. govern¬

ment, despite its sympathy with Israel’s objectives in general, would not support, under any circumstances,

the annexation of Al-Quds to Israel. He added that neither side would be allowed to decide the final status

of the Holy City. This position is still the official policy of the U.S. A. which maintains its opposition to any

modification of the status quo ante in the Holy City and to the occupation of the Arab part of A1 Quds. At

the same time, however, the U.S. government has participated in the transport of Soviet Jews to Israel and

their settlement in the housing units whose construction was condemned by the U.S. Secretariat of State(3)

This means that the U.S. government, by financing these operations, is contributing to the violation of the

Geneva Convention.

Many world figures protested against Israeli schemes and expressed concern at the judaization affect¬

ing Al-Quds and its population. In a joint letter addressed to the Times on 15 March 1975 by Arnold Toyn¬

bee and Jeffrey Fairlong, following the publication of a condemnation, by a group of leading architects and

town-planners from all over the world, of the Israeli plan for the «development of the City», the authors ex¬

pressed their concern at the deliberate destruction of the Holy City. They requested those who pretended to

represent the Jewish people to ponder the issue. The two writers voiced their astonishment that World

Christians had abstained from criticizing the policy of sacrilege pursued with determination by the Israeli

authorities in the Holy City at a time when political, human and aesthetic indicators pointed to a distressing

result, i.e. the destruction of the City.

In another letter to the Times, published on 17 August, 1972, Dr. Catheline Canion, Director of the

British School of Archaeology in Al-Quds and Professor of Archaeology at Oxford University, expressed

concern over the Israeli excavations and their extension all along the wall of Al-Haram where many ancient

monuments are situated. Dr. Canion said: «The destruction of such buildings is a serious crime and the dis¬

figurement of ancient monuments by such excavations is inconceivable». She appealed to world public

opinion to give every support to counter such acts. Some press circles in the West have criticized Israeli ac¬

tion in Al-Quds. They considered the Israeli Ministry of Housing decision to proceed with the implementa¬

tion of the «master-plan» a serious threat to the future of the Holy City and the cause of peace. These circles

have also considered that the hasty Israeli action will disfigure the wonderful City. Moreover, all the West¬

ern press sources have confirmed the reports on the Israeli operations of population evacuation and blowing

up of houses.

A close look at the series of resolutions, recommendations and appeals adopted by the UnitedNations,

most countries in the world, and the widest circles of wold public opinion, in condemnation of the Israeli

legislation and practices in respect of Al-Quds; a close look also at the Israeli authorities’ complete disre-

( 1 ) This is explained by the fact that Al-Quds constitutes a unique symbol for countries where American interests are present. Con¬

sequently, the U.S. government does not dare to recognize the Israeli decision to annex Al-Quds.

( 2 ) The Israeli government had protested to the U.S., U.K., France, Belgium, Spain and Turkey against flying their flags at half-

mast at their Consulates in East Al-Quds, in mourning for the death of President Jamal Abdel Nasser. While the protests re¬

ceived diplomatic responses from the Consulates, the flags remained at half-mast. The six countries do not recognize the annexa¬

tion of East Al-Quds. Their Consulates there are independent from their Tel Aviv Embassies and report directly to their respec¬

tive Foreign Ministries.

( 3 ) In 1971, the United Stated pladged U.S.$ 50 million to cover the cost of transfer and settlement of Soviet Jews. In 1974, the U.S.

Secretariat of State signed a U.S.$ 30-million contract with an American organization to assist with the emigration of Soviet Jews

to Israel.

107

gard for world opinion; make it highly legitimate for the Organization of the Islamic Conference, all coun¬

tries in the world and the United Nations Organization to undertake more effective and more efficient mea¬

sures in order to halt the crime being committed against the Palestinian people, the three revealed religions,

humanity and civilization as a whole, through the annexation of the City of Al-Quds to the State of Israel,

the displacement of the City’s inhabitants and the judaization of the City’s features. Such measures call for

an escalation of the reaction to them and the search for practical ways to put an early end to them so that

normalcy can be restored with the liberation of Al-Quds and the fulfilment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

The subject of the Israeli danger to Al-Quds was discussed at length by UNESCO. It is well known that

the modern world attaches great importance to the safeguard and protection of cultural property particular¬

ly in times of armed conflict, as such property constitutes the common heritage of mankind. This import¬

ance is clearly demonstrated by the agreements concluded with different countries as well as the resolutions

and recommendations of various conferences and meetings on the safeguard and protection of cultural

property. This in itself is a genuine gain for human civilization. (The Hague Agreement of 1954 and the re¬

commendation of the Archaeologists’ General Conference in New Delhi 1956). Israel was among the coun¬

tries who approved the Hague Agreement.

The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory has put the cultural property of the country in jeopardy

since 1948. However, there had been no world reactions to defend this cultural property until the Israeli

aggression of 1967. World reaction came as a result of the abundance of monuments and historic places in

the newly-occupied territories, on the one hand, and on the other hand, as a result of Israeli acts of aggres¬

sion against such places and monuments either through illegal excavations and transfer of vestiges or

through violations of Holy Places and changes of the City’s features. At the end of 1967, UNESCO

appointed Colonel Carl Bronze as Commissioner-General in charge of the protection of cultural property in

the occupied Arab territories. On his arrival in the country, he immediately entered into contact with the

authorities concerned in order to discuss Israeli aggressions against monuments in the Arab area. He also

contacted the other UNESCO Commissioner in Israel (Mr. Rabinic) in order to question the Israeli author¬

ities about these aggressions.

The Israeli aggressions against the occupied Arab territories including Al-Quds were discussed by the

UNESCO General Conference and Executive Council. Several resolutions have been adopted, most of

them of a general nature and a few concerning Al-Quds in particular. Thus, the safeguard of the distinctive character of Al-Quds has become one of the major tasks of the organization.

The different organs of the United Nations system have also adopted, since 14 June, 1967, more than20

resolutions concerning Israel’s violations of human rights in the occupied territories and of the Fourth

Geneva Convention of 1949 on abrogation of laws in force and protection of civil populations in time of war

from all acts of annihilation, deportation, ill-treatment and collective reprisals, etc. All these resolutions^ concern the occupied territories but also apply to Al-Quds.

( 1 ) The first of these was Resolution 237 adopted by the Security Council on 14 June, 1967, which called upon Israel to respect hu-

man rights in the areas affected by the Middle East conflict of 1967. Other resolutions adopted by the U.N. General Assembly include the following:

— Resolution 2252 (adopted at the U.N. Extraordinary Session of 4 July, 1967), which reaffirmed the need to respect human

rights in occupied territories and requested Israel to ensure the safety, security and welfare of the population in the occupied

Arab territories.

The Resolution also affirmed that, even in time of war, the basic inalienable human rights should be respected.

— Resolution 2341 (adopted on 19-12-1967 at the 23rd Session) which reaffirmed the need to respect human rights in the areas of

fighting.

— Resolution 2443 (adopted on 19 December, 1967 at the 23rd Session) which stipulated the setting up of an ad-hoc Committee

to inquire into Israeli practices affecting human rights.

— Resolution 6 (adopted on 27 February, 1968 at the 24th Session).

— Resolution 6 adopted on 4 March, 1969 by the 25th. Session)

— Resolution 7 (adopted on 4 March, 1969 by the 25th Session)

— Resolution 10 (adopted on 23 March, 1970 by the (26th Session).

— Resolution 9 (adopted by the 27th Session on 15 March, 1971).

— Resolution 3 (adopted by the 28 Session on 22 March, 1972).

— Resolution 4 (adopted by the 29th Session on 14 March, 1973).

— Resolution of the 30th Session on 11 February, 1974.

108

Map of the Various phases of excavations within the ramparts of the Old City of Al-Quds.

Israeli excavations around the Sacred Enclosure and beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

1 st phase 1968 mm 2nd phase 1969

3rd phase 1970-1974 lifflii

4th phase 1974 iliil

5th phase 1974- the tunnels isag 6th phase 1975

Project for the deepening of the Al-Boraq Square (Wailing Wall) - ■1975. roooool too 0 0 Ql

109

The Committee on Human Rights adopted, at its 27th session on 15 March 1971, Resolution 9 which

condemned Israel for the violation of human rights in the occupied territories and non-compliance with the

provisions of the U.N. Charter and international law concerning its legal commitments as an occupationau-

thority. The resolution devoted the following paragraphs to the question of Al-Quds:

«The Committee on Human Rights, — Reaffirming that the basic human rights and freedoms, stated in the Geneva Convention of 12 August,

1949 on protection of civilian population in time of war and other similar international documents also

apply to all the territories occupied by Israel as a result of fighting in the Middle East, including Jeru¬

salem;

— Disturbed at the persistence of Israel in setting up settlements in the occupied territories including Jeru-

salem while refusing to allow Arab refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes, a right whose

denial by Israel is considered an insult to mankind and a violation of international law;

Reaffirms once more that all the measures taken by Israel to colonize the occupied territories and the

city of Jerusalem are null and void».

At its 28th Session on 22 March, 1972, by Resolution 3, the Committee of Human Rights considered

that the Israeli measures constituted a serious violation of the Geneva Treaty and were therefore regarded

as «crimes of war and an insult to mankind». It should be noted that since the Nuremberg trials and the sent¬

ence of death against the leaders of Nazism for their war crimes, no entity has been condemned for such

crimes except the racist regimes in South Africa, Rhodesia and Israel.

The World Health Organization (World Health Assembly and Executive Board) has also adopted

several resolutions since Israeli aggression took place. The resolutions call for the return of Middle East re¬

fugees to their homes and the improvement of their health conditions. They also deplore Israel s eviction of

Arab inhabitants and destruction of their homes and camps as well as violation of the human rights of re¬

fugees and other inhabitants of the occupied territories. Furthermore, the resolutions urge the Internation¬

al Community to provide health and medical aid to refugees and denounce Israel’s refusal to receive the

Committee of Inquiry into the health conditions of the population of occupied territories. All the para¬

graphs of these resolutions are applicable to Al-Quds.

The International Organization of Civil Aviation adopted a resolution on October 5,1974, requesting

member states to refrain from operating any flights from or to Al-Quds (Qalendya) airport unless an au¬

thorization is obtained in advance from the Jordanian authorities.

The international conference on Human Settlements, convened in Vancouver, Canada, in 1976, re¬

commended that occupation authorities should have no ritht to carry out any changes or acts of expropria¬

tion in the occupied territories nor take any measures which may bring about changes in the population

structure and the geographical set-up of the territories».

Maquette of the Temple which Israel is seeking to build on the «ruins» of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Mosque of the Holy Rock.

110

CHAPTER V

The Question of Al-Quds and International Law

The Zionist entity is trying to legalize the annexation of Al-

Quds by distorting the principles of internationallaw; it talks about

the permissibility of annexation through the right of occupation

based on an alleged historical right.

This «rationale» makes it necessary to know the point of view

of international law towards the question of Al-Quds.

A. Brief Historical Survey

The City of Al-Quds occupies a unique place in the hearts and minds of the people of the world for its

religious and spiritual significance to one billion Christians, seven hundred million Muslims and fourteen

million Jews. Al-Quds, during the Reign of the Ottomans, enjoyed a special status as evidenced by the

Administrative Orders issued from Istanbul during the years 1877 and 1878 for the City and its suburbs. This

meant that the city was directly controlled and ruled from Istanbul instead of by the District Governor^.

At the end of the First World War, Al-Quds was occupied by the British armed forces on behalf of the

Allies in accordance with the Peace Treaty which, at that time, ended all contention and disputes. Al-Quds

was severed from the Ottoman empire and entrusted to British administration in line with the British Man¬

date granted by the League of Nations.

Under the British Mandate (1922 -1948), Al-Quds became the capital of Palestine. On 29 November,

1947 the General Assembly of the United Nations voted on the terminating of the British Mandate over

Palestine and recommended the establishment of two states-one Arab and one Jewish and the internationa¬

lization of the City of Al-Quds.

On the eve of the terminating of the British Mandate over Palestine in 1948, the Jews declared the

establishment of their state of Israel, but the Arabs refused to declare their state because they opposed the

partition of their homeland. As concerns the internationalization of Al-Quds, this was rejected by both,

Jews and Arabs.

Israel occupied Al-Qud’s new quarters in 1948, and the old quarters of the City remained under Arab

control. Conditions continued to exist as they were until June 1967 when through a blitzkrieg, Israel

annexed the Arab part of Al-Quds together with the remaining parts of Arab Palestine.

In conformity with the principles and ideals of International Law, Israel enjoys the status of an occupy¬

ing state. In reality, Israel acts and behaves like a sovereign state over Al-Quds. Israel annexed the City of

Al-Quds - the new quarters in 1950 and the old quarters in 1967 - and altered the City’s historical, topog¬

raphical and demographic nature. Furthermore the Israeli authorities took a number of measures which are

a direct and flagrant violation of its status as an occupying power, as a member of the world community of

nations, and as a member of the United Nations. These violations culminated in the declarations on 30 July,

1980 of Al-Quds as the sole and eternal capital of the state of Israel. This arbitrary action which created an

explosive situation threatening world peace, was denounced by the Security Council in its Resolution No.

478 of 20 August, 1980, by the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Fez (Morocco) on 20 September, 1980 and by world public opinion.

( 1 ) A. Heidelborn, Droit Public et Administratif de I’Empire Ottoman, p.7, Vienna-Leipzig, 1908.

Ill

This being the case, it is both desirable and agreeable to study the legal status of Al-Quds in the light of

International Law and United Nations Resolutions, taking into consideration the following three aspects:

1. Sovereignty of the Palestinian People over Al-Quds

2. United Nations General Assembly Resolutions to internationalize Al-Quds.

3. Occupation and annexation of Al-Quds since 1948 and the resulting effects on the status of the city.

B. Right to sovereignty of the people of Palestine over Al-Quds

Prior to its occupation in 1917, Palestine was part of Turkey and the Palestinians, like other Arabs who

lived in the Ottoman Empire, enjoyed equal rights with the Turks and shared with them sovereignty overall

the provinces of the Empire, whether Arab cr Turkish.

The peace settlement which ended the First World War envisaged, inter alia, the recognition of the in¬

dependence of the Arab provinces which, until then, formed part of Turkey.

The fourth paragraph of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations stated:

«Certain communities, formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire, have reached a stage of develop¬

ment where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized, subject to the rendering

of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The

wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory».

As a result, five new States came into existence: Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Transjordan

(which later changed its name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan). In execution of Article 22 of the Cove¬

nant, the League of Nations placed these new States under mandates: Lebanon and Syria under a French

mandate. Iraq, Palestine and Transjordan under British mandates. Iraq, however, rebelled aqdproclaimed

its independence.

The legal effect under international law of the detachment of Palestine from Turkey and the recogni¬

tion, by Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, of the existence of its inhabitants as «an inde¬

pendent nation» was to make of Palestine a State under the law of nations in which was vested sovereignty

over the country^1). The fact that Palestine was placed under a mandate did not affect the statehood of

Palestine or divest its people of sovereignty over their country.

The concept of mandate was a temporary arrangement having as its aim, in the words of Article 22 of

the Covenant, «the rendering to the people of the mandated territory, of administrative advice and assist¬

ance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone». It is obvious that the Mandatory did

not acquire title or sovereignty over the mandated territory.

The legal status of Palestine as one of the «A» mandated territories had close similarity to that of a

«protected State».

Palestine possessed an international personality which was distinct from that of the British Govern¬

ment as Mandatory power. The Government of Palestine, as representative of the people and territory of

Palestine, concluded agreements with the Mandatory power and treaties with third States through the in¬

strumentality of Great Britain.

The possession, by Palestine, of an international personality of its own, thus distinguished its status

from that, for example, of the territory of South West Africa. In the case of the latter, the Supreme Court of

South Africa held that, since German sovereignty over it was extinguished, and the territory survived only

as a geographical entity and did not become an international person in its own right, juridical personality

had terminated^1). This clearly was not the case of Palestine.

( 1 ) Regarding the concept of national independence and sovereignty contained in Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Na¬

tions, see R. Erlich, «La Naissance et la Reconnaissance des Etats», Recueil de la Have, 1.13 (III), p. 450,1926; H. Ducan Hall,

Mandates, Dependencies and Trusteeships, p.80, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, 1948.

( 1 ) D.P.O’Connell, International Law, Vol.l, 2nd ed., p.333, Stevens, 1970.

112

On the other hand, the Mandate did not divest the people of Palestine of their sovereignty over the

country. Professor Pic was one of the first writers to proclaim the principle that sovereignty lies with the in¬

habitants of the mandated territory. He said:

«The authors of the Versailles Treaty, prompted primarily by peoples’ right to self-determination, for¬

mally proclaimed that there would be no annexation of the mandated territories by any power, or by the

community of states called the League of Nations and having its seat in Geneva, or by such or such state in

particular. These territories virtually belong to autochtonous populations and communities, of whom the

League of Nations has come forward as a defender and in whose eyes it plays somewhat the role of aboard

of guardians. Now in internal law, neither the board of guardians, nor the guardian it appoints and whose

acts it controls, has the right to deprive the ward of its possessions(1)».

Stoyanovsky has correctly argued that the people of a mandated territory are not deprived of the right

of sovereignty but are temporarily deprived of its exercise^.

Pelichet has advanced the view that communities under mandate enjoy real, not virtual, sovereignty:

«La jouissance des droits de souverainete est detenue reellement, et non point virtuellement, paries

collectivites»(3).

There exists now a fairly general consensus that sovereignty lies with the people of the mandated

territory(4).

There can be no doubt, therefore, that sovereignty over Al-Quds, as an integral part of Palestine, was

at all times in the people of Palestine both during Turkish rule when the Palestinians were citizens of an in¬

dependent and sovereign country and also specifically after the detachment of Palestine from Turkey.

Although the War of 1948 and the military occupation of Al-Quds prevented the Palestinians from ex¬

ercising their sovereignty effectively on the termination of the Mandate, yet their sovereignty was not lost,

as we shall see, whether by reason of the United Nations resolution which internationalized Al-Quds or as a

result of its occupation and annexation.

In view of the continued existence of Palestinian sovereignty, one cannot help but feel amazed at the

inanity of Camp David Accords of September 1978 which aim at securing the granting, by the occupying

Power, of some kind of «autonomy» to the Palestinians, including the Arab inhabitants of the Old City of

Al-Quds when, in fact, the essence of the problem is not the acquisition, by the Palestinians, of autonomy or

even of sovereignty which they have at all times possessed, but simply the restoration of its exercise by its

legitimate owners.

C-Decision of the Internationalization of Al-Quds and Israeli Measures of Annexation

Although the Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims, expressed their reservation towards the decision of in¬

ternationalizing Al-Quds, it is necessary to tackle this matter by rejecting the Israeli argument which proc¬

laims that U.N. Resolutions support the annexation of Al-Quds to the State of Israel, the establishment of

which was declared in the name of these resolutions.

By Resolution 181 dated 29 November 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations recom¬

mended that the City of Al-Quds shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international

regime and shall be administered by the Trusteeship Council on behalf of the United Nations.

The area of the corpus separatum was defined to include the then existing Municipality and environs of

Al-Quds comprising Bethlehem and Ein Karem.

( 1 ) P. Pic, «Le Regime du Mandat d’apres le Traite de Versailles», Revue Generale de Droit International Public, Vol. 30, p. 334.

1923.

( 2 ) Stoyanovsky, LaTheorie Generale des Mandats Internationaux, p. 83.

( 3 ) E. Pelichet, La Personnalite Internationale Distincte des Collectives sous Mandat, p. 100, Rousseau, Paris, 1932

( 4 ) See various authorities cited in Henry Cattan, Palestine and International Law, 2nd ed., pp. 116-120, Longman, 1976.

113

In this connection, it may be necessary to correct an error made by some persons, Professor Rousseau

for example, who state that the internationalization of Al-Quds in 1947 was limited to a part of the City

which comprised the Holy Places.

The resolution envisaged the appointment, by the Trusteeship Council, of a Governor to administer

the City and to conduct its external affairs. The Governor would be assisted by an administrative staff

chosen, whenever practicable, from the residents of the City and the rest of Palestine. Local autonomous

units on the territory of the City, such as municipalities, shall enjoy wide powers of local government and

administration. The City would be demilitarized and its neutrality declared and preserved. A Legislative

Council elected by the residents of the City would have powers of legislation and taxation.

The Resolution declared that its provisions relating to Holy Places and to religious, minority and prop¬

erty rights «shall be under the guarantee of the United Nations, and no modifications shall be made in them

without the consent of the General Assembly of the United Nations» (Chapter 4 of Part 1). The Resolution

further embodied a Statute for the City, which provided that the Trusteeship Council shall elaborate and

approve a detailed Statute of the City, which shall contain, inter alia, the substance of the provisions set

forth in the Resolution.

However, influenced by developments in the field, the Statute, which was prepared by the Trusteeship

Council, deviated from Resolution 181 and was accordingly ignored by the General Assembly which res¬

tated its intention, in Resolution 303 of 9 December 1949, that Al-Quds should be placed under a perma¬

nent international regime, and requested the Trusteeship Council to prepare and approve a Statute of Al-

Quds on the lines of Resolution 181, and to proceed with its implementation regardless of actions taken by

any Government or Governments.

On 4 April 1950, the Trusteeship Council approved a Statute for the City of Al-Quds, which substan¬

tially followed that embodied in Resolution 181, though it differed from it mainly in substituting a system of

communal election to the Legislative Council by Christians, Muslims and Jews in lieu of universal suffrage

and proportional representation.

Being unable to implement it by reason of the opposition of Israel and Jordan to internationalization,

the Trusteeship Council transmitted the Statutes to the General Assembly.

Attempts were then made to modify the scope and nature of the internationalization of Al-Quds in a

debate at the General Assembly in December 1950, but none of the proposals that were made secured the

approval of the General Assembly.

The effect of Resolution 181 was to clothe Al-Quds with an international legal status compatible with its historical character and religious significance to the world.

The question which needs to be now considered is whether the internationalization of Al-Quds by Re¬

solution 181 has conferred sovereignty on the United Nations or the Trusteeship Council or has affected the

sovereignty of the people of Palestine over Al-Quds. The answer is that the Resolution did not have either of these fwo effects.

The Resolution did not confer sovereignty on the United Nations or the Trusteeship Council over Al-

Quds. The fact that the Resolution attributed to the Trusteeship Council the power to administer Al-Quds

on behalf of the United Nations did not have the effect of vesting sovereignty over the City in the Trus¬

teeship Council or in the United Nations. The power of administration of a territory and the right of

sovereignty over such territory are two different matters. Just as the British Government did not, according

to the generally accepted opinion,'acquire sovereignty over Palestine during the period of the Mandate,

though vested by the League of Nations with full powers of legislation and administration, similarly the giv¬

ing to the Trusteeship Council of powers of administration only, but not of legislation and taxation, did not confer on it sovereignty over the City of Al-Quds.

On the other hand, the Resolution did not divest the Palestinians of their sovereignty over Al-Quds,

either. The powers of legislation and taxation as well as the judiciary, which are attributes of sovereignty.

114

were reserved for the inhabitants. Not only did Resolution 181 not divest the Palestinians of their sovereign¬

ty, it could not do so had it intended such result, for one does not see how the United Nations possesses the

competence to extinguish Palestinian sovereignty.

The internationalization of Al-Quds was not abrogated by reason of the City’s occupation in 1948 by

Israel and Jordan. In fact, such internationalization was reaffirmed by the General Assembly in Resolution

194 of 11 December 1948 and Reselution 303 of 9 December 1949, significantly after Israel’s occupation of modern Al-Quds and Jordan’s occupation of the Old City.

The non-implementation or even the violation of Resolution 181 did not entail its lapse or abrogation

just as the various Resolutions of the United Nations, which have called for the repatriation of the Palesti¬

nian refugees or the rescission of the measures taken by Israel contrary to the status of Al-Quds, have not

lapsed or been abrogated by Israel’s refusal to implement them. There exists no principle in legal theory

which would support the view that a resolution of the United Nations is abrogated by reason of its violation.

More importantly, in several resolutions adopted since 1967, the legal status of Al-Quds was invoked by the

General Assembly and the Security Council to condemn adopted since 1967, the legal status of Al-Quds was

invoked by the General Assembly and the Security Council to condemn Israel’s occupation and annexation

of the City and to proclaim the nullity of all measures it has taken in violation of such status.

In these resolutions, the General Assembly and the Security Council speak of «the status of Al-Quds»,

or «the legal status of Al-Quds» (Security Council Resolution 252 of 21 May 1968 and General Assembly

Resolution 32 - 5 of 28 October 1977), or the «specific status of Al-Quds» (Security Council Resolutions 452

of 20 July 1979,465, of 1 March 1980 and 476 of 30 June 1980). The only «status» or «legal status» or «speci-

fic status» which Al-Quds possesses is that laid down in Resolution 181 of 29 November 1947.

Some resolutions of the Security Council, namely, 267 of 3 July 1969,271 of 15 September 1969 and298

of 25 September 1971 and General Assembly Resolution 298 of 4 July 1967 refer to the status of «the City of

Al-Quds». The appellation «City of Al-Quds» is derived from Resolution 181 which defined the corpus separatum of Al-Quds.

The reliance by the United Nations on the status of Al-Quds to invalidate the measures taken by Israel

is significant in two respects. On the one hand, it means that though internationalization has not been effec¬

tively implemented in the field, its legal consequences are recognized and full effect is given to them in order

to invalidate all measures taken by Israel in the City, as contrary to its status. On the other hand, it also

means that the legal consequences of internationalization apply to the entirety of the corpus separatum

which comprises both the Old City and modern Al-Quds. No difference in fact or in law exists between them

and it is not conceivable that one part should be treated differently from the other.

The illegality of Israel’s presence and actions in Al-Quds is indivisible since its international legal status

encompasses its two sections, old and new. Moreover, Israel is estopped from disputing the legal status of

Al-Quds. It expressly accepted the Resolution(1) and relied upon it to proclaim a Jewish State in 1948. It

also specifically recognized the legal effect of the Resolution on Al-Quds in the assurances it gave to the

General Assembly in 1949 in support of its application for membership of the United Nations. Abba Eban,

Israel’s representative then, declared to the General Assembly that «the legal status of Al-Quds is different from the territory in which Israel is sovereign^2).

The consequences of Israel’s violation of the legal status of Al-Quds were drawn by the United Nations

in a number of resolutions which have ( a ) proclaimed the illegality of the City’s occupation and annexa¬

tion, ( b ) called for Israel’s evacuation of the City and ( c ) affirmed the nullity and called for the rescission

of all measures, legislative, administrative, demographic and proprietary, it has taken which tend to change the status of the City.

( 1 ) Charles Rousseau, Droit International Public, t.II, p.446, Sirey, 1974.

( 2 ) Documents Officiels de la 3me Session de l’Assemblee General®, 2me partie, Commission Politique Speciale, pp. 286-287,1949.

115

D. Occupation and Annexation of Al-Quds

There remains to examine whether the occupation and annexation of Al-Quds have affected the legal

status of the City. In this regard, two periods may be distinguished: the period from 1948 to 1967 and the

period from 1967 to the present day.

From 1948 until 1967, Al-Quds was occupied by Israel which Held modern Al-Quds and by Jordan

which held the Old City. Both States annexed the section which they controlled. These two annexations,

however, cannot be equated. Israel’s annexation was a flagrant violation of international law carried out by

an occupying power against the will of the original inhabitants. Jordan’s action was not, strictly speaking, an

annexation by an occupying power, but was, in fact, the result of the union of Jordan and Palestine which

was carried out in accordance with a resolution adopted on 24 April 1950 at Amman by a National Assembly

composed of an equal number of Palestinians an Jordanians. In June 1967, Israel captured and annexed the

Old City and, since that date it, has been in occupation of the entire City of Al-Quds.

Israel’s annexation of Al-Quds, whether it be that of its modern section or of the Old City, was made

under the pretence of a historic or biblical right to restore the capital of the Jewish kingdom of David and

Solomon which existed some thirty centuries ago.

Israel’s claim to Al-Quds Al-Sharif is a fake and a fraud. First because the Jews of the 20th century, who

emigrated to Palestine during the British Mandate or since the establishment of Israel, are not the descen¬

dants of the biblical Israelites, but are mostly converts to Judaism, who have exploited religion for politcal

and nationalistic purposes. Joseph Reinach, a French politician of Jewish origin, has explained that very

few of today’s Jews have any connection with Palestine and that the great majority of them are descendents

of Russian and Polish Jews-who incidentally constituted the majority of immigrants to Palestine during the

British Mandate - and who descend from the Khazars, a Tartar people of Southern Russia who were con¬

verted in a body to Judaism at the time of Charlemagne(1)

Second, because an ancient historical connection like that of the Jews with Al-Quds in biblical times,

even if one were to assume that present-day Jews are descendants of the Israelites, gives them no right under

international law or practice to claim a city or a territory. The Arabs ruled Spain for a much longer time and

more recently than the Jews ruled Al-Quds, but this fact does not give them a right to lay a claim to Spanish

territory. The King-Crane Commission, appointed in 1919 at the suggestion of President Wilson to ascer¬

tain the wishes of the Arab inhabitants of Palestine under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Na¬

tions, summed up the legal position by declaring that «the initial claim, often submitted by Zionist repre¬

sentatives, that they have a «right» to Palestine based on an occupation of two thousand years ago, can hard¬

ly be seriously considered»(2). Israel cannot claim to be the successor to the kingdom established by David

and Solomon. State succession exists in intenrational law when a State, as a result of cession, conquest or

dismemberment follows its predecessor in the possession of its territory. But the monarchy established by

David thirty centuries ago disappeared with its people in the dust of history. There exists no rule of interna¬

tional law that recognizes a right of succession by a State like Israel, which was established in the 20th cen¬

tury, to a State that existed thirty centuries earlier. Hence, no legal basis whatsoever exists for Israel’s

annexation of Al-Quds and its proclaiming it its capital. Israel’s claim to Al-Quds on the basis of a biblical

right is just unmitigated nonsense.

Third, because Al-Quds was founded and inhabited for centuries by the Canaanites, the ancestors of

the Palestinians. The latter inhabited Al-Quds throughout the centuries, even after Davids’ capture of the

City. After the deportation of the Jews by the Romans following their second revolt in AD 132-135, no Jews

were left in Al-Quds.

( 1 ) Voir Journal des Debats, 30 mars 1919, cited by Philippe de Saint Robert in Le Jeu de la France en Mediterranee, p.222, Julliard,

1970. ( 2 ) J.C. Hurewitz, Diplomacy in the Near and Middle East, Vol. II, p.70, Van Nostrand, 1956,

116

Al-Quds was exclusively Arab in population and character for the following eighteen centuries until

the modifications brought about in its demography during this century as a result of the Balfour Declaration

and the British Mandate, both of which were wrongly and undemocratically imposed upon the people of

Palestine.

Not only do Israel’s occupation and annexation of Al-Quds lack any basis, they also violate interna¬

tional law, the resolutions of the United Nations and the rights of the Palestinians.

Israel’s occupation of Al-Quds, whether in 1948 or in 1967, was an agression and a flagrant violation of

international law. Israel’s excuse that its forces occupied modern Al-Quds during the war which broke out

in 1948 between itself and the Arab States is completely baseless because Jewish forces had seized and occu¬

pied the Arab quarters of modern Al-Quds in 1946 before the end on the Mandate and before any Arab

armies penetrated Palestine. Similarly, in 1967, Israel captured the Old City in what it sought to make the

world believe was a defensive war when, in fact, it was clearly an aggression on its part.

But regardless of whether Israel seized Al-Quds by way of aggression or in the course of a war, its

occupation gives it no right to usurp and annex the City.

Furthermore, Israel’s occupation and annexation of Al-Quds violate the Resolution of the United Na¬

tions, which laid down an international regime for Al-Quds. Israel cannot validly claim any territorial and

political rights or benefits by violating a resolution of the United Nations, in particular, the very Resolution

to which it owes its existence.

Finally, Israel’s occupation and annexation of Al-Quds violate the sovereignty of the Palestinians.

Such occupation and annexation do not, and cannot, affect or extinguish the inalienable rights of the

Palestinians over Al-Quds. The sovereignty of the Palestinians is not lost or destroyed because, as laid down

in the French Constitution of 3 September 1791, «sovereignty is one, indivisible, inalienable and impre¬

scriptible^

Israel has not, as a result of its occupation and annexation, acquired sovereignty over Al-Quds. Its sta¬

tus is that of a military occupier. The United Nations have invariably referred to Israel as «the occupying

power». The description was emphasized in the last two resolutions of the Security Council, namely, Re¬

solutions 476 of 30 June 1980 and 478 of 20 August 1980 which have condemned its actions in Al-Quds. It is a

settled principle of the law of nations that an occupying power does not acquire sovereignty over the occu¬

pied territory, nor does his occupation destroy or extinguish the sovereignty of the legitimate sovereign.

Belligerent occupation does not result in the transfer of sovereignty in favour of the military occupier(1) who

merely acquires a temporary right of administration^. Speaking of military occupation of territory, Profes¬

sor Gaston Jeze said:

«This appropriation, which rests exclusively on force, does not entail for the victor the acquisition of

the occupied territory... Let us first assume that the State, whose territory is invaded, refuses to deal with

the victor and that the latter maintains its occupation. The domination by the victorious State will be a de

facto not a de jure sovereignty... As long as there are protests to be heard, there will indeed be adomination

in fact but not a status in law.»^33)

The rule is stated today in these terms: «Conquest has ceased to constitute a mode of acquisition of

territory since the genral prohibition on recourse to force». (Pact of Paris of 1928, Charter of the UnitedNa-

tions, Art. 2, para.4)(4).

The rule that conquest does not destroy the title of the legitimate sovereign is not an entirely new con¬

cept. It was on the basis of the concept of the legitimacy of title that the pre-Napoleonic sovereigns were

( 1 ) Dinh, Daillier et Pellet, Droit International Public, 2me ed., p.406, L.G.D.J., 1980.

( 2 ) Oppenheim International Law, Vol.2, p.436, Longman, 1952,7th ed.

( 3 ) Gaston Jeze, Etude Theorique et Pratique sur l’Occupation, pp.44-46, Paris, 1896.

( 4 ) Translation from Dinh, Daillier et Pellet, Droit International Public, 2me ed.,, p.438, L.G.D.J., 1980.

117

restored to power in 1815. It is on the basis of the same concept that the nationhood of Poland was preserved

during the interregnum between 1795 and 1919 and its sovereignty restored despite the occupation and

annexation of its territory. It is on the same basis that the sovereignty of several countries was restored after

occupation and annexation: Ethiopia after Italy’s conquest and annexation in 1936, Poland after the Russo-

German conquest of 1939, Austria after its forced union with Germany in 1938, Czechoslovakia and Alba¬

nia after their conquest and annexation during the Second World War. In all those cases, the legitimate

sovereign retained «residual» sovereignty. The concept of legitimacy of title is a practical application of the

principle of inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war.

Thus Palestinian sovereignty over Al-Quds has not been lost or destroyed. D.P.O Connell observes

that «there can be no loss of territory without the intention of abandonment. ,»(1) Similarly, G. Schwarzen- berger remarks: «In present-day international law, it is by itself not sufficient to transform wartime

occupation into a transfer of sovereignty. Even in the relations between belligerents, not to speak of third

States, the title requires to be consolidated by positive acts of recognition or consent or, at least, by ac¬

quiescence of the former territorial sovereign»(2). The Palestinians have not abandoned their right to Al-

Quds, or consented to the acquisition of any rights by Israel over the City.

On the other hand, lapse of time does not legitimize Israel’s occupation and annexation of Al-Quds.

Professor Giraud observes that, in contrast to private law, no prescription is envisaged by international law

to regularize irregular situations^.

E. CONCLUSION

In the light of the preceding considerations, Israel’s occupation and annexation of Al-Quds do not con¬

fer any rights on it, as the occupying power, and do not impair the legal status of the City, which falls to be

determined in accordance with international law and the resolutions of the United Nations.

At first sight, however, some difficulty may arise if the status of Al-Quds were to be determined by in¬

ternational law exclusively or in accordance with United Nations resolutions alone. In accordance with in¬

ternational law, the status of Al-Quds is that of a city which is illegally occupied by Israel in violation of the

inalienable right of sovereignty of the people of Palestine. But in accordance with United Nations resolu¬

tions, the status of Al-Quds is that of a city which possesses a special international regime.

Hence, the problem of determining the status of Al-Quds becomes inextricable if it is to be resolved by

one to the exclusion of the other of those two criteria. However, there is no inconsistency in having recourse

to both international law and United Nations resolutions in this matter. The concept of internationalization

is not uniform in its applications for in some instances the sovereignty of a State may coexist with the inter¬

nationalization of a city or territory. Professor Charles Rousseau points out that internationalization does

not require the effective exercise of sovereignty by the international community:

«Thus, it does not appear as some authors have thought... that the regimes of internationalization con¬

stitute a legal category involving the actual exercise of sovereignty by the international community»^.

An example of such internationalization was that of Tangiers which, despite its internationalization,

remained under the sovereignty of Morocco.

It follows then that the internationalization of Al-Quds by the united Nations in 1947 and the various

resolutions it has adopted since then concerning its status are not incompatible with, and do not exclude, the

sovereignty of the people of Palestine. These resolutions are of two kinds:

( a ) Those which have proclaimed the nullity and invalidity of the measures thaken by Israel contrary to

the legal status of the City and have called for its evacuation, the repatriation of Palestinian refugees and the

( 1 ) D.P. ’Connell, International Law, Vol. 2nd ed., p.444, Stevens, 1970.

( 2 ) G. Schwarzenberger, International Law, 3rd ed., p.302.

( 3 ) E. Giraud, Le Droit International et la Politique, Academie de Droit International, Recueil des Cours, Vol. Ill,p.425,1963.

( 1 ) Charles Rousseau, Droit International Public, t.II, p.413, Sirey, 1974.

118

rescission of all measures taken to change the character and status of the City, including all legislative and

aeministrative measures, transfers of population(1), confiscations and expropriations of property and the

dismantling of settlements. The implementation of these resolutions does not prejudice the right of

sovereignty of the Palestinians, but on the contrary helps to restore the historic character of Al-Quds. It

goes without saying that the implementation of these resolutions is a condition precedent to the interna¬

tionalization of the City.

( b) The Second set of resolutions are those which established the special International regime, namely,

Resolutions 181,194 and 303. These Resolutions embody three elements: (i) the principle of internationa¬

lization; (ii) the Provision for the administration of the City by a gouerner appointed by the Trusteeship

Council and assisted by residents of Al-Quds and the rest of Palestine, (iii) the reservation of the Powers of

Legislation and taxation to a Legislative Council elected by the residents of the City.

In conclusion, therefore, the legal status of Al-Quds rests upon a special international regime applic¬

able to the corpus separatum of the City of Al-Quds as defined in Resolution 181 of 1947, which envisages its

administration by the United Nations but leaves other attributes of sovereignty, mainly the powers of leg¬

islation, taxation and the judiciary, vested in the inhabitants.

( 1 ) Since 1948 Israel has transferred to Al-Quds 200,000 settlers thus radically altering its demographic structure. The Arab popula¬

tion of Al-Quds, which stood in 1948 at over 100,000, in accordance with United Nations figures, has now been reduced to 70,000

while its Jewish population which was then less than 100,000 has now reached the figure of 275,000. Such transfer of population

by the occupying power is prohibited by the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of

12 August 1949 and was repeatedly condemned and declared null and void by the United Nations.

119

120

CHAPTER VI

THE FUTURE OF AL-QUDS

We have now to try and answer the question posed by

the painful reality which besets Al-Quds today. What future do we envision for Al-Quds and how do we

set about building it?

We have already said that Al-Quds today is living

through both an ordeal and a resistance. The ordealis a

result of Israeli occupation of the City which is, in turn,

the direct consequence of the Zionist invasion of Pales¬

tine. As for the resistance, it is the natural reaction to

occupation, undertaken by the people of Palestine as a

right and a duty.

Having analysed the racist Zionist policy practised

by Israeli occupation, we may briefly sum up its con¬

sequences which are developed in the statements made

at the United Nations on the atrocities of military rule,

settlement, repression, tyranny in its urgliest form, con¬

fiscation of land and desecration of sanctuaries.

These consequences show that «Zionist invaders as destroyers of civilization in Palestine, have surpassed all

other invaders particularly with their inhuman methods. Al-Quds has suffered the largest share of this des¬

truction. Its sacred features have been maimed by military buildings ; its purity has been defiled by modes of

life which are far remote from spiritual values and incompatible with sanctities». Al-Quds has been sub¬

jected to successive Israeli measures which have aimed to complete its confiscation and drive away its

population.

The whole world has deplored such measures in various ways. The Organization of the Islamic Confer¬

ence has examined the question of Al-Quds amongst other major issues and found that it represents the

pivotal issue for all its Member States. Hence the OIC activity at the level of the United Nations. The OIC

has called on each and every State of the international community to oppose the Zionist measures in Al-

Quds. It has addressed its remarks directly to a Superpower laying on it special responsibility for the suffer¬

ing of Al-Quds and condemning «all the policies, statements and stances put out by the U. S. Administration

and certain forces and circles in the United States of America, which encourage Israeli aggression»(32).

Concern over the fate of Al-Quds has gone beyond the Muslim World to include the Christian World, sec¬

tions of Jewish groups worldwide, and the whole world. His Holiness the Pope has expressed his concern on

several occasions. Such concern has also been voiced by the European Community in a number of state¬

ments, the latest of which is the Venice Declaration of June 1980. It has also been embodied in Security

Council resolutions and in statements by a number of Jewish personalities and wise men.

The people of Palestine are fully discharging their duty in opposing Israeli occupation. Despite the

hardships they have endured, they are putting up a fierce resistance, while presenting to the whole world the

outline of the humanitarian solution which will bring about just and comprehensive peace in Palestine and

the Arab region.

The people of Palestine have proclaimed in the Charter of the Palestine Liberation Organization,

which they have made the Charter of their struggle, a fundamental attitude towards the Jews of Palestine.

They consider them, as always before, part of the people of Palestine (Article 6). The people of Palestine

have declared their firm intention to pursue their duty towards the faithful who perform pilgrimage to Al-

Quds, in protecting the Holy Places and in maintaining Al-Quds as a spiritual centre. The people of Palest-

inehave always made a distinction between such people as Musa Bin Mimun, the Arab Jew who went to

121

Al-Quds or Benjamin Al-Tulaytuli who performed pilgrimage there, and Zionist invaders such as

Menahem Begin, the man of terrorism, who came from Poland, or Mayer Kahan, the man of hatred, who

came from New York. In spite of the great distress they have suffered at the hands of the Zionists, the peo¬

ple of Palestine hold out their hands to all the Jews, who are today living on the land of Palestine, in order to

live in peace with them provided that they, too, choose to live in peace with the people of Palestine. This

declaration is embodied in the Palestine speech delivered by the Chairman of the Palesttine Liberation

Organization from the rostrum of the United Nations on 13 November 1974. While the President of Israel,

Navun has boasted, in a statement, that he belongs to a family which has lived in Palestine for three and a

half centuries, thus giving an indication of the ancient history of Israel, the people of Palestine consider him

a Palestinian who has alienated himself from his cause and history to work with invaders against it.

The people of Palestine have also proclaimed, through the resolutions of their National Council, their

commitments to international legality and their firm intention to discharge their obligations within the in¬ ternational community.

The international community, however, must also discharge its duty. This duty consists in exercising a

practical policy towards Israeli occupation of Al-Quds and Arab territories. It has been proved over the past

years, that the mere issue of declarations by Member States, both individually and collectively, the adop¬

tion of resolutions without exercising a practical policy to implement them, enable the aggressor to persist in

his aggression undeterred. The aggressor, in this case, is a racist movement which cannot distinguish be¬

tween what is good and what is harmful for himself let alone the rest of the world.

The study of Israeli policy reveals a salient feature, namely that this policy will remain prone to extrem¬

ism. This is due to the nature of the Zionist agglomeration in Palestine. Zionist policy is therefore unable to

move towards peace for it is attached to expansion and aggression. Zionist ideology is still seeking to induce

the Jews to emigrate from their countries and to grant them Israeli nationality. It adheres to the law of re¬

turn of the Jews while depriving the people of Palestine of their own right to return to their homeland and

the land of their fathers and ancestors, and trying to get rid of those Palestinians who are still living on the land of Palestine.

It is evident that the Zionist movement is persisting in the wrong. Its persistence in expansion and

aggression constitutes a threat to the people of Palestine and world security. Giving his impressions after a

visit to Israel, Nahum Goldman recently wrote: «The State, with the exception of the two institutions of the

judicial and the armed forces, is in total decay». «The morale of the people, he added, has begun to decline

as a result of the crimes, the corruption and the foreign policy of the State, which have led to its isolations

Goldman continued: «An aggressive, unpopular Jewish State, stemming from the belief that its existence

will crown Jewish history and revive its age-old dreams, is, in my belief, a degradation of the great Jewish destiny and an orphaning of the heroic and tragic qualities in our history»(33).

The fact that Israel, in the final analysis, is unable to make for peace is an incentive for all of us to dis¬ charge our duty in imposing just and comprehensive peace and to support the people of Palestine in the dis¬ charge of this duty.

Just and comprehensive peace can only prevail through the solution of the Al-Quds issueand that of

Palestine in general. The sound solution will enable the people of Palestine to exercise their inalienable

national rights, i.e. their right to return; their right to self-determination; their right to set up an indepen¬

dent State of their own. This will necessitate, first and foremost, the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied

Arab territories including East Al-Quds as a first step, then the implementation of the U.N. resolutions on

Palestine. Arab States have declared their commitment to seeking just peace and agreed, at the Baghdad Conference, on the principles and foundations of such peace based on international legality.

We are convinced that, through persistent struggle, based on faith in spiritual values and focusing on the triumph of truth and justice, we shall achieve the Al-Quds of the future. It is the liberated Al-Quds,

capital of the independent State of Palestine where Palestinian Muslims, Christians and Jews will live as

122

equal brothers under the auspices of tolerance and friendship; where Muslim, Christian and Jewish believ¬

ers from all over the world will perform pilgrimage to praise and exalt the name of God; and which will be a

resplendent civilizational centre.

The struggle which stems from the faith in God and for the triumph of truth and justice is, for Muslims,

Jihad for the love of God. The Organization of the Islamic Conference appeals to all Muslims to perform the

obligation of Jihad for the liberation of Bayt Al-Maqdis. They have to make every conceivable sacrifice to

give concrete form to the great human significance of Jihad. The Islamic Conference appeals equally to all

those who believe in spiritual values as well as all free men in the world to contribute to this struggle, which

will lead us to the Al-Quds of the future, the capital of the independent State of Palestine.

123

INDEX OF REFERENCES

1. Ben Gourion: «The Jews In Their Land». Aldus Book. 1966. Michael Curtis: «The Palestinians.... People, History, Politics», New Jersey 1975.

2. Philip Hitti: «The History of Syria, Lebanon and Palestine». Vol. 1. Page 3 Dar Al-Thaqafa. Beirut 1958.

3. Khayriya Kasimiyeh: «The Question of Al-Quds®. Dar Al-Quds. Beirut 1979. 4. On the Geography of Palestine:

Hitti: Op. Cit. Vol. 1. Mustapha Al-Dabbagh: «Our Country, Palestine». Vol. 1 Dar Al-Tali’ah, Beirut.

5. Ishaq Musa A1 Husayni: «Urubat Bayt Al-Maqdis» (The Arab Identity of Bayt Al-Maqdis). Research Center, Beirut.

6. Muhammad Adib Al-Amiri: «A1-Quds Al-Arabiyyah» (Arab Al-Quds) Dar A1 Tibaa Wal Nashr, Amman 1971.

Michael Avi Yonah, «Jerusalem», Keter Books. 7. Hitti: Op. Cit. Chapter 15. 8. Ahmad Sidki Al Dajani: «The History of Palestine Throughout the Ages:

an Analytical Survey» Palestine Affairs Magazine. Vol. 1977.

9. Bristid: «Ancient Times» (Al’Usur Al-Qadimah), Translated by Dawud Qurban, Beirut 1926 - Page 315. 10. Hitti: Op. Cit. Vol.2, Page 14. 11. Hitti: Op. Cit. Vol.2, Page 250. 12. Ahmad Sidki Al Dajani: «Notes on the evolution of the Life of Palestine Jews until the Arab Islamic

Conquest®. a. research paper presented to the Conference on Al-Sham (Greater Syria), Amman 1980.

— James Park: «A History of Palestine from 135 to Modern Times, London 1949. 13. Arthur Koshler: «The Thirteenth Tribe®. 14. Avi Yonah: «Jerusalem - Prehistoric period®. 15. On the ancient history of Al-Quds see also:

Al Husayni: «Urubat Bayt Al-Maqdis®, op.cit. Al Aamiri: «Al-Quds Al-Arabiyyah», op.cit.

16. Al Husayni: op.cit. 17. Al Hanbali: «A1 Uns Al Jalil fi Tarikh Al-Quds wal Khalil®, Page 41. 18. Al Dajani: «Notes on the life of the Jews throughout the ages®. 19. Hitti: op.cit. 20. Asad Rustum: «A1-Rum was Silatuhum Bil Arab® (The Byzantines and their ties with the Arabs) Vol. 1

- Dar Al Makshuf - Beirut 1955. 21. «Ward Al Ahd Al Umari® and other books by Tabari. 22. Hitti: op. cit. 23. Stanley Lynpowell: «Saladin» - Translated by Dar Al-Quds. Al - Husayni: «Jamiat Al Masjid Al-Aqsa» (University of the Al-Aqsa Mosque) Translated by Dar Al-Quds.

24. Bernard Lewis: «The Arabs in History®, Page 78. 25. Bernard Lewis: Ibid. Page 79. 26. Al Husayni: «Urubat Bayt Al-Maqdis®. 27. Solomon Grayzel: «A History of the Jews®. Page 243, A Mentor Book, 1978. 28. Park: op. cit. p. 148. 29. This is a reference to the Al-Dawudi Al Dajani family and Sultan Sulayman Al Qanuni who issued a decree to Sheikh Muhammad Al Dajani on this matter. (Ottoman Documents of the History of Palestine). 30. Uriel Heyed: «Ottoman documents on Palestine®, Oxford 1960. Park: op. cit. p. 228. 31. «Abu Zahra® by Ibn Taymiyyah 32. Resolutions of the Organization of the Islamic Conference - Islamabad Conference, May 1980. 33. Nahum Goldman: Espresso Magazine: 1 October 1980.

124

One of the quarters of the Old City of Al-Quds, in 1875 - by Robert.

125

JERPSALEM (OLD CITY)

Scale 1:5000

*"**jf*

Israeli scheme for the confiscation and demolition of Islamic Arab quarters within the ramparts of Al-Quds and displacement of its Mus¬ lim Arab inhabitants.

1. Quarters and property confiscated in 1968.

2. Israeli excavations between 1968 and 1979

3. Quarters threatened with collapse as a result of Israeli excava¬ tions.

4. Construction which collapsed in 1977.

5. Districts whose phased demolition has been planned together with the displacement of their inhabitants.

0 0 O £

o o o c O O 0 l

Prepared by. Ruvvfii Khalit) (Mayor of Jerusalem)

126

A N N E X (1)

ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS AND QUARTERS IN AND AROUND THE CITY OF AL-QUDS

No. Name of Settlement Name of Area Location in

relation to

Al-Quds

Number of

Residential Units.

Date of Construction

1 Harabigh he Yahudi

(Jewish Quarter)

Al-Magharibah

(Moors) Quarter (Between Western

Wall of Aqsa

Mosque and Latin

Convent)

400 1968

2 Ramat Eshkol Sheikh Jarrah North Side 2000 1968 3 Ramat Shapira

(French Hill)

El-Masharef- French Hill-

Mount Scopus

North Side 3000 1969

4 Anatot (Hebrew

University staff and

students residential

halls)

Anata - Shu’fat North East 1974

5 Neve Ya’cov Beit Hanina-Ram North Side 4000 1973 6 Atarot

(Industrial Zone)

Qalandia Near Jerusalem

Airport South

61 Factories 1970

7 Ramot Nebi Samuel North West 3000 1977 8 Gilo (Gilo Sharafat) Beit Safafa

and Sharafat South side 2000 1973

9 Samuel Hanvi West to Sheikh

Jarrah North West 1300 1973

10 Ma’alot Devna Sheikh Jarrah North Side 300 1968 11 Mezreh South of al-

Muqabber South Side 3000 1968

12 Givat Hamivtar Adhdhakhira

Hill North Side 700 1977

13 Armon Hayeviv Mount al-

Muqabber

East Side 3500 1977

14 Hanani East Aizariyya East Side 10,000 1977 15 Ma’ale Adomim El Khan el-

Ahmar East Side 1977

16 Afrat Arab el-

Sawahreh North East 300 1977

17 Talpiotq Sur Bahir/

Talbiyya South Side 2342 1973

18 Neve Horon Imwass-Yalu-

Beit Nuba West Side 1969

19 Ma’ale Adomim ( b ) El-Khan el-


20 Ma’ale Adomim ( c ) El-Khan el-


21 Hargilo Beit Jala -

Jebal Rass South Side 1973

127

No. Name of Settlement Name of Area Location in

relation to

Al-Quds

Number of

Residential

Units.

Date of

Construction

22 Rosh Gilo Beit Jala- South Side 1976

32 Beit Horon-b

Jebal Rass

Beit Ora el- north West 1977

24 Givon-b

Fawqa

District of North West 1979

25 Jeva Hadat

el-Jib


26 Mekhmish

el-Jib


27 Tel Ze’ev Mekhmash

West Side 1981 28 Halmish East of Beit North Side 1981

29 Besfat Tal Hanina

East of Beit North Side 1981

30 Tesfon Jerusalem Hanina

Beit Hanina North Side 1982 31 Bitar District of South West 1982

32 Adam Beit Jala-Btir

Jirm-Jericho East Side 1983

33

34 Ramat Kedron

Sanhedria Extension

Road

North Al-Quds North Side 3200 1983

1973 35 Ramat Rahil Beit Sfafa South Side 1973 36 Krayyat’ Anavim Beit Surik North Side 1973 37 Kfar Ruth Lattrun West Side 1977

ANNEX (II)

UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTIONS ON THE CITY OF AL-QUDS

1. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (II) dated 29.11.1947: «Partition a resolution recommending the partition plan of Palestine.

2. Trusteeship Council Resolution 32 (II) dated 10.3.1948: Approves the international corpus separatum status of Al-Quds.

3. UN General Assembly Resolution 185 (ES-II) dated 26.4.1984: Requests the Trusteeship Council to recommend measures of protection for the City of Al-Quds and its inhabitants.

4. UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (III) dated 11.10.1948: Establishes a Conciliation Commission for Palestine (CCP) to present detailed proposals for a permanent international regime for the Al-Quds area.

5. UN General Assembly Resolution 303 (IV) dated 9.12.1949: Re-affirms that the City of Al-Quds should be treated separately and should be placed under effective (and permanent) UN control. And decides that the Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return to their homeland.

6. UN General Assembly Resolution 356 (IV) dated 10.12.1949 (In part): Credit sanction for the establishment of an international regime in Al-Quds.

128

7. UN Trusteeship Council Resolution 114 (ES-II) dated 20.12.1949: Calls upon Israel to rescind measures taken to transfer some Government Departments and Ministries to the City of Al-Quds.

8. UN General Assembly Resolution 2253 (ES - V) dated 4.7.1967: Calls upon Israel to rescind all

measures already taken and to desist forthwith from taking any action which would alter the status of Al-Quds.

9. UN General Assembly Resolution 2254 (ES-V) dated 14.7.1967: Expresses deep concern at the

situation prevailing in Al-Quds as a result of the measures taken by Israel to change the status of the City of Al-Quds.

10. UN Security Council Resolution 250 (1968) dated 27.4.1968: Calls upon Israel to refrain from holding the military parade.

11. UN Security Council Resolution 251 (1968) 2.3.1968: Expresses deep regret for the holding of the military parade.

12. UN Security Council Resolution 252 (1968) dated 21.3. 1968: Urgently calls upon Israel to

rescind all measures already taken and desist forthwith from taking any further action which tends to change the status of Al-Quds.

13. UNESCO Resolution 15C-343 dated October-November 1968: Recommends compliance with

the Geneva convention relative to the protection of cultural properties during armed conflicts.

14. UNESCO Resolution 15C-3.343 dated October-November 1968: Calls upon Israel to preserve cultural properties, especially in Old Al-Quds.

15. UN Security Council Resolution 267(1969) dated 3.7.1979: Urgently calls once more upon Israel

to rescind forthwith all measures taken which may tend to change the status of the City of Al-Quds.

16. UN Security Council Resolution 271 (1969) dated 15.9.1969: Condemns the failure of Israel to

comply with the resolutions (of the UN) and calls upon it to implement forthwith the provisions of these resolutions.

The Resolution referred to the statements made before the Council reflecting the universal outrage

caused by the act of sacrilege in one of the most venerated shrines of mankind referring to the arson of the al-Aqsa mosque.

17. UNESCO Resolution 82 EX-4.42 dated 1969: Calls upon the Israeli Occupation Authorities to preserve cultural properties.

18. UNESCO Resolution 83 EX-4.3.1 dated 1970: Expresses deep concern about the Israeli

measures contrary to the Convention relating to cultural properties during armed conflicts.

19. UNESCO Resolution 83 EX-4.3.1.1, dated 1970: Condemns the arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

20. UN Security Council Resolution 298 (1971) dated 25.9.1971: Notes with concern the

non-compliance by Israel with the resolutions concerning measures and actions by Israel designed to

change the status of the Israeli-occupied section of Al-Quds.

21. UNESCO Resolution 88EX-4.3.1. dated 1971: Calls upon Israel to preserve cultural properties,

especially in the Islamic and Christian Holy places in the Old City of Al-Quds.

22. UN General Assembly Resolution 181(11) dated 29.11.1947 «Recommending a Plan for the

Partitioning of Palestine»; known as the «Partition Resolution and the «Internationalization of Al-Quds Resolution.

This Resolution was followed by many others, reaffirming Resolution 181 on the internationalization

and administration of Al-Quds. The most important of these are as follows:

129

1. UN General Assembly Resolution 194(111) dated December 1948

2. UN General Assembly Resolution 303(IV) dated 9 December 1949

3. UN General Assembly Resolution 356(IV) dated 10 December 1949

4. UN General Assembly Resolution 468 (V) dated 14 December 1950

23. UN Security Council Resolution 446(1979) dated 22.3.1979. The Resolution states that «... the

policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories

occupied since 1967, have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a

comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East».

24. UN Security Council Resolution 452(1979) dated 20.7.1979: Requests the Israeli Authorities to

cease activities relative to settlements in the Arab Occupied Territories, including Al-Quds.

25. UN Security Council Resolution 465(1980) dated 1.3.1980: Calls upon the Government and

people of Israel to rescind all measures, to dismantle the existing settlements and in particular to cease,

on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the Arab territories

occupied since 1967, including Al-Quds.

26. UN Security Council Resolution 476(1980) dated 30.6.1980: Announces that all measures taken

by Israel, designed to change the status of Al-Quds, are null and void.

27. UN Security Council Resolution 478(1980) dated 20.8.1980: Affirms that the «Basic Law» is null

and void, and calls upon UN members to withdraw their diplomatic missions from Al-Quds.

28. Resolution 36-15 dated October 1981: Requests Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the

excavations in the historical, cultural and religious places in Al-Quds, especially those around and under

the Holy Sanctuary, the buildings of which are being exposed to the danger of collapsing.

29. UNESCO Resolution dated January 1983: Declares the Old City of Al-Quds an International

Cultural Place.

30. UNESCO Resolution 18C-3.427 dated 30.11.1947: Deplores Israeli non-compliance with the

UN and UNESCO Resolutions relative to Al-Quds and the continued changes in the historical character

of the City through excavations which endanger the City’s cultural places.

31. UNESCO Resolution 92EX-4.4.1 dated June 1972: Strongly deplores the continuation and

persistence of Israel in pursuing excavations in Al-Quds.

32. UNESCO Resolution 92EX-4.5.1. dated 1973: Calls upon Israel to respect the historical

character of Al-Quds.

33. UNESCO Resolution 94EX-4.4.1 dated 1973: Condemns Israel for non-compliance with the

Resolutions of the UN and UNESCO on Al-Quds.

130

I

ANNEX (III)

Holy Islamic Places in Al-Quds

A1 Aqsa Mosque Al-Hayat Al-Salahiyyah Mosque Qubbat Al-Sakhrah Mosque (Dome of the Rock) Qalawun Mosque Al-Khalili Mosque Al-Qaymari Mosque (Al-Qaymariyyah) Waliy Allah Muhareb Mosque Al-Sayfi Mosque and Maqam (Shrine) Khan Al-Sultan Mosque Ala’ Al-Din Busayri Mosque Greater Al-Umari Mosque Darghath Mosque Smaller Al-Umari Mosque Al-Zawiyah Al-Afghaniyyah Mosque Al-Disi Mosque (Prophet Dawud) Women’s Mosque Al-Ya’qubi Mosque Al-Bukhariyyah Mosque Al-Hariri Mosque Al-Shurbaji Mosque Al-qal’ah Mosque (Citadel) Mis’ab Bin Umayr Mosque Mahd’Isa Mosque (Nativity) Al-Sheikh Lulu Mosque Suwaiqat Allun Mosque Al-Mawlawiyyah Mosque Uthman Ibn Affan Mosque Al-Midhanah Al-Hamra Mosque (Red Minaret) Umar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque Al-Sheikh Rayhan Mosque Al-Khanqah Mosque (Al-Zawiyah) Al-Sheikh Makki Mosque and Shrine Al-Qarmi Mosque Al-Zawiyah Al-Mihmaziyyah

131

Al-Muthabbit Mosque Al-Zawiyah Al-Qarmiyyah

Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque Zawiyat Sheikh Ya’qub

Al-Zawiyah Al-Khitaniyyah Al-Zawiyah Al-Naqshabandiyyah

Al-Zawiyah Al-Jarrahiyyah Al-BurqWall (Western Wall)

Al-Mansuri (al-Qalandari) Mosque Prophet Sulayman Mosque and Shrine

Prophet Dawud Mosque Midhanat Bab Al-Ghawanimah

Al-Zawiyah Al-Lu’lu’iyyah Zawiyat Al-Sheikh Haydar

Al-Zawiyah Al-Wafa’iyyah Al-Khanqa Dawadariyyah Mosque

Al-Nabi Mosque (The Prophet Mosque) Al-Zawiyah Al-Ad’hamiyyah

Al-Khidhr Prayer Place. Minbar Burhan Al-Din (Pulpit)

Al-Magharibah Mosque (Moors) Al-Zawiyah Al-Dhahiriyyah Al-Buraq Mosque Zawiyat Wali Allah Abi Madiyan

Al-Midhanah Al-Fakhriyyah (Minaret) Maqam Al-Ghabayin (Shrine)

Midhanat Bab Al-Asbat (Asbat Gate Minaret) Midhanat Al-Qal’ah Mosque (Minaret of the Zawiyat Al-Hunud Citadel) Al-Zawiyah Al-Kabkiyyah Midhanat Bab Al-Silsilah (Minaret of the

Chain Gate).

ANNEX (IV)

May 5,1977

«Prohibition of Entering Closed Area» Ordinance

We, the undersigned, acknowledge herein, our cognizance of the prohibition of entering a closed area, closed with: barrels.

The boundaries of the area are detailed hereunder:

North: -

East: -

South: - West: ———-— ---

We are also conizant that we are ordered to notify all the inhabitants of this prohibition and of the man¬ ner of insubordination, under the District Commander Ordinance number ( )

We are also cognizant of the following:

1. The prohibition of herding cattle in the aforementioned area without obtaining a special permit issued by the Commander of the Ramallah district.

2. The prohibition of land cultivation and of land products removal without obtaining a special permit issued by the commander of the Ramallah district.

We are also cognizant of the fact that each insubordination to this Ordinance shall be considered a

violation of security, and that each violator and whoever assists him/her with such an act, shall be court- martialled.

The Military Commander

132

ANNEX (V)

Text of the Report of the fact-finding Commission on the question of settlements, established under

Security Council Resolution

No.446(1979)

Report of the Security Council Commission established under Resolution NO.446 (1979) of Saturday

14 July 1979, including a letter signed by the three members of the Commission, i.e. Leonardo Mathia - Por¬

tugal (Chairman), Julio Di Zafala - Bolivia and Kiasuka Simonji Mutukawa - Zambia, certifying that the

Report was approved unanimously on 12 July 1979.

A 42-page report (English) containing an introduction on the visit to the area..., details of the visits to

Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, statements by the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization

and other PLO officials, findings and recommendations in addition to annexes relating to the findings and

recommendations.

133

«Despite the announced Israeli opinion regarding the mandate, the Commission made perseverant

efforts at various levels to secure the cooperation of the involved governments. As for its efforts made to

communicate with the Israeli government, the Commission was frustrated by the negative response of this government.

It was noted that the Israeli standpoint had not only deprived the Commission of the possibility to

examine the situation relating to settlements in the occupied Arab territories, but also of any opportunity

to receive, from the Israeli government, the explanations and comments which would have been valuable for evaluating the situation.

Consequently, having carefully examined all the elements of information which the Commission was

in a position to gather in the implementation of its mandate, the Commission would like to affirm that the present report gives an accurate appraisal of the situation.

The Commission was informed that between 1967 and May 1979, Israel has established altogether

133 settlements in the occupied territories, consisting of 79 in the West Bank, 29 in the Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip and the Sinai.

The Commission observed that the number of settlers differs in these settlements - probably due to a

pre-established policy for each settlement. The number of settlers in Jerusalem and the West Bank

reached 90,0000; since establishing settlements in these areas was carried on abundantly, while the number of settlers in the Sinai is less than 5,000.

The confiscated lands (as a whole), whether for settling or other purposes, cover 27% of the area of the West Bank and most of the Golan Heights.

The Commission believes that the settlements were established equally on private and public properties.

Many settlements are military-type, whether they were under the direct official control of the Israeli

army or populated by settlers fit to serve in the army. It is even alleged that the settlers live unarmed amongst the Arab population.

On the funding of the settlements, the Commission observed that, in addition to special aid from out¬

side Israel, the policy of funding the settlements is basically a government matter. The Israeli government

has allocated the equivalent of U. S. D 200 million for the expansion and erection of settlements during fiscal year 1979-1980.

The Israeli government is actively pursuing its wilful, systematic large-scale process of establishing

settlements in the occupied territories. The government holds complete responsibility for this matter.

The Commission supports the belief that a correlation exists between the establishment of Israeli

settlements and the displacement of the Arab Population; hence since 1967, the Arab population has

been reduced by 32% in Jerusalem and the West Bank. In the Golan Heights, only some 8,000

inhabitants have been able to remain, out of the original population of 142 thousand, (i.e. only 6% of the original population remained).

In the implementation of its policy of settlements, Israel is resorting to methods - often coercive and

sometimes more subtle - which include the control of water resources, the seizure of private property, the

destruction of houses and the banishment of persons in complete disregard for basic human rights,

especially the right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.

The settlement policy has brought drastic and adverse changes to the economic and social pattern of

the daily life of the remaining Arab population; the Commission was told that a number of Arab

landowners are now compelled to earn their living and that of their family by working on their own land

as the hired employees of the Israeli settlers. This policy is also causing profound changes of a

geographical and demographic nature in the occupied territories, including Jerusalem.

134

Although the Commission is aware of the limited objectives of its mandate, and also aware of the

complexity of the Middle East problem, yet it would like to take the opportunity to point out the sincere

wish of the Arab governments and the P.L.O., which the Commission has visited and met, to establish

peace in the area.

Unfortunately, grave misery and despair are noted in the area, especially amongst Palestinian

refugees, resulting from Israeli policy in the occupied territories, particularly its policy of increasing the

number of settlements - a policy which could be restrained neither by UN resolutions nor by any other

means.

The Commission would like to stress the feeling observed during the meetings, that the Israeli

settlement policy is considered as a large scale hindering factor in the way of peace establishment in the

area. This was felt by the refugees, and their supporters, including the neighbouring governments whose

social and economic departments are facing serious difficulties due to the results of the settlement policy.

In conclusion, the Commission believes it is its duty to recommend the Security Council to draw the

attention of Israel to the drastic results of the settlement policy, and to the hindering process of this policy

in the way of any possible peaceful establishment in the area: considering in the meantime the rights of

Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.

The Commission suggests that the Security Council should, as a first step, request Israel to cease, on

an urgent basis, the establishment, construction and planning of settlements in the occupied territories.

The search for a solution relative to the existing settlements would follow.

The Security Council may consider other procedures with respect to the expropriated properties.

On Al-Quds, the Security Council may call upon Israel to comply with all previous Security Council

resoltuinons since 1967. Moreover it may recall to its attention the very nature of the City as the holiest

place of Islam*, and Judaism*christianity

Consequently, the Security Council may find it necessary to reconsider practical measures to

preserve and protect the spiritual and religious nature of the Holy Places, taking into consideration the

views of the religious representatives of the three religions.

On the settlement policy, its threats and results affecting the peace in the area, the Security Council

should keep this matter under permanent and direct control.

135

ANNEX (VI) Confiscated Lands in the West Bank

from June 1976 to May 1984 Israeli Settlements on the West Bank as of may 1984

From To Areea in Dunums Location Number of Settlements

June 1967 February 1982 1,969,678

February 1982 February 1983 239,191

February 1983 May 1984 313,594

Jordan Valley and

Jericho 32

Al-Quds 73

Al-Khalil (Hebron) 33 Nablus, Janin, Tul-Karem54

Ramallah, El-Beireh 18

Total Confiscated Lands L,513,463 as of May 1984:

i.e. approximately 50%

of the West Bank area

(5.5 Million Dunums).

Total 174

136

ANNEX (VII)

Actual and Planned ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS

IN THE WEST BANK AND THE GAZA STRIP

(1967 - 2000)

mediterranean sea V so**'

1Ulk</«n irai'JOa** Nan*1*!* • »ot'C‘ .6 • Mo Ho*** . Hohol *»*'«' ( b Showian • o' 7

Hfi-lir® ~vVrH |1M» * a (rja* ^ .pqaorB*

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137

ANNEX HISTORICAL BUILDINGS IN

VIII THE CITY OF AL-QUDS

No: BUILDING NO: BUILDING

1. Dome of the Chain 41. Al-Salamiyyah School

2. Umayyad Palaces 42. Ghunaym House

3. Golden Gate (Gate of Mercy and Gate43. Al-Jalibi Mausoleum

of Forgiveness) 44. Western Porticos

4. Southern Colonnade 45. Al-Ghawanimah Gate

5. Eastern Colonnade 46. Al-Sa’di Mausoleum

6. Western Colonnade 47. Moors Gate

7. Akhshidite Princes Mausoleum (Cemetery) 48. Al-Jadiliyyah School

8. Southe astern Colonnade 49. Al-Karimiyyah School

9. Al-Salahi Mental Hospital 50. Northern Colonnade

10. Al-Salahi Sanatorium (Khaniqat) 51. Northeastern Colonnade

11. Yusuf Dome 52. Al-Tankaziyyah School

12. Al-Salahiyyah School 53. Al-Amiriyyah School

13. Washroom (Mat’harah) 54. Al-Fakhri Hospice

14. Circular place of ablution (Al-Kaas) 55. Cotton Merchants Gate

15. Dome of the Night Journey (Mi’raj) 56. Cotton Market

16. Gate of the Chain and

Gate of

57. Tankiz Caravanserai (Atozbir

Caravanserai)

Tranquillity 58. Al-Shifa Baths

17. Sulayman Dome 59. Al-Ayn Baths

18. Inspector Gate 60. Northwestern Colonnade

19. Al-Shaykh Dirbas Mausoleum 61. Al-Malakiyyah School

20. Al-Nahwiyyah Dome 62. Al-Kilani Mausoleum

21. Cistern of the Great King ’Isa. 63. Turkan Khan Mausoleum

22. Al-Badriyyah School 64. Persian School

23. Citadel (pre-Islamic period) 65. Iron Gate

24. Northern Portico 66. Al-Qashtumariyyah School

25. Dark Gate 67. Al-Arghuniyyah School

26. Sha’lan Fountain 68. Al-Salamiyyah School of Quran

27. Al-Mu’aththamiyyah School 69. Al-Muhaddithiyyah SChool

28. Huttah Gate 70. Al-Manjikiyyah School

29. Barakah Khan Mausoleum 71. Al-Taziyyah School and Mausoleum

30. Musa Dome (School of Quran) 72. Minaret of the Asbat Gate

31. Al-Qaymariyyah Dome 73. Al-As’ardiyyah School

32. Washroom Gate 74. Al-Hanbaliyyah School

33. Ala Al-Din Al-Basir Caravanserai 75. Al-Luluiyyah School

34. School of the Prophet’s Hadith 76. Municipal School and Cemetery

35. Al-Mansuri Caravanserai 77. Al-Khathuniyyah School

'36. Kurds Caravanserai

Al-Mudhaffariyyan

78. Palace of Lady Tanashqar

37. Al-Dawadari Hospice 79. Al-Tushtumuriyyah School and Mausoleum

38. Dawud Pulpit 80. Sultan Caravanserai

39. Al-Awhadi Mausoleum 81. Al-Dhahir Stone Bench

40. Minaret of Al-Fawwagha Gate 82. Al-Turbughah Mausoleum (Al-Mu’allim

Al-Sayfi)

138

NO: BUILDING NO: BUILDING

83 Dark Gate Fountain 123. Al-Hasaniyyah School 84. Stone Bench of the Sulayman Fountain 124. Al-Busayri Fountain 85. Inspector Gate Fountain 125. Al-Uthmaniyyah School 86. Al-Asbat Gate Fountain and Sitti Al-Jawhariyyah School

Mariyam Fountain 127. Stone Bench of Qa’it Bey Fountain 87. Ramparts and Gates built by the 128. Southwestern Colonnade

Ottomans 129. Al-Zamani Caravanserai 88. Al-Quds Ramparts 130. Al-Mazhariyyah School 89. Gate of the Pillar 131. Al-Ashrafiyyah School 90. Al-Sahirah Gate 132. Qait Bey Fountain 91. Stork Tower 133. Al-Anfaj Pool 92. The Prophet Dome 134. Yemen House 93. Sitti Mariyam Gate (Al-Asbat Gate) 135. Tomb of Mujir Al-Din Al-Hanbali 94. Al-Khalil Gate 136. Souls Dome 95. The Prophet Dawud Gate 137. Al-Khidhr Dome 96. Brimstone Tower 138. Sultan Baths 97. Moors Gate 139. Qasim Pasha Fountain 98. Al-Rasasiyyah School 140. Fountain of the Sultan Pool 99. Bayram Jawish SChool 141. Fountain of the Valley Gate Road 100. Khasiki Sultan Asylum 142. Fountain of the Chain 101. Ali Pasha Pulpit 143. Arcades 102. Yusuf Agha Dome 144. Suks of: 103. Al-Shaykh Budayr Fountain - Perfumers 104. Al-Tin Stone bench - Oil Shop Gate 105. House of Glory - Butchers

- Bazaar 106. Lobby of Sultan Mahmud II. - Bashura 107. Gate of Mercy (Sacred Enclosure) - Cotton Merchants 108. Stables 145. Sultans Baths 109. Perfumers Fountain 146. Tomb of the Prophet Dawud 110. Oil Shop Fountain 147. Fountain of the Gate of Wisdom 111. Valley Steps Fountain 148. Citadel Minaret 112. Sharaf House 149. Zawiyah (Tomb and Hospice)

of Wali Al-Din 113. Place of Seclusion of Muhammad Agha Abu Madiyan 114. Mausoleum of Lady Tanashqar Al- 150. Blocked up Gates

Mudha-ffariyyah. 151. Walls 115. School of Oratory 152. Stables 116. Al-Busayri Stone bench 153. Ghabayin Shrine 117. Sultan Pool 154. Tomb of Al-Shaykh Makki 118. Al-Sabibiyyah School 155. Tomb of Al-Shaykh Hasan 119. Al-Kamiliyyah School 156. Tombs of Al-Khalil Gate 120.

121.

122.

Al-Wafaiyyah School

Al-Qadiriyyah School

Al-Basitiyyah School

157. Fountain of Huttah Gate

139