Iranian media is reporting that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has claimed that the temporary closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is part of an Israeli plan to destroy the site. According to a press TV report:
Ismail Haniyeh
Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has vowed to fight Israel over the regime’s latest move to close the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to Palestinian worshippers.
Haniyeh, who took part in a mass protest in Gaza on the Day of Rage on Friday, said the resistance movement would not allow the Israeli regime to do as it likes on the compound.
He warned that the temporary closure of the al-Aqsa Mosque was part of an Israeli plan to destroy the holy site.
‘The Israeli enemy is entering a very dangerous phase in carrying out its tasks towards the sacred mosque,’ the Palestinian leader said.
‘They (Israelis) plan to assign different prayer times for Jews and Arabs and think seriously about destroying the holy mosque by building underground tunnels beneath it,’ Haniyeh added.
He emphasized that the Palestinian people would not give up and not remain indifferent, but would fight for their holy sites.
In June, a Mideast news portal reported that Haniyeh had said that a new intifada (uprising) had already begun in the West Bank.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is often the subject of various Muslim Brotherhood conspiracies theories involving alleged Israeli plots and plans to destroy the mosque. Raed Salah, the leader of the Northern branch of the Islamic Movementis noted for often alleging that Israel is conspiring to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
