PNN/Jerusalem

The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Heritage and Waqf reported yesterday that the Israeli authorities have almost finished a network of tunnels underneath one of the gates of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.


The Foundation also said in a press release that Israel has finished digging tunnels and excavations near the Ablution Gate, and has connected them to other networks of tunnels located underneath the western wall of the mosque, reports WAFA.

The Foundation has declared that these excavations have been done secretly by Israel, under the pretence of archeological excavations and funded by the radical settler organization Ateret Cohanim, and that with the digging they have uncovered large vaulted halls that will be open soon to the Israeli public.

WAFA quotes the Foundation declaring that “All the archeological findings date back to various successive Islamic periods, especially the Mamluk period; however, Israeli occupation authorities claim they date back to the Temple era”.

The Foundation concluded saying that the network of tunnels run under the vicinity of the western border of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, less than 50 meters away from the mosque, and penetrate deep into underneath Ablution Gate, located within the mosque itself.

SOURCE: PALESTINIAN NEWS NETWORK