Palestinians accuse Israel of destroying Islamic artifacts under Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israel is carrying out excavations under the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and destroying Islamic artifacts, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said Sunday.

A statement by the governorate said leaked videos showed illegal excavations being carried out by the Israeli forces beneath the flashpoint site.

It accused the Israeli authorities of “deliberately destroying Islamic artifacts dating back to the Umayyad period, which serve as living proof and conclusive evidence of the Muslims' rightful ownership of the site.”

“Israel is working to destroy these Islamic archaeological landmarks with the aim of erasing the historical identity of Al-Aqsa and falsifying the facts in favor of the alleged ‘Temple Mount’ narrative,” the statement said.

“These excavations are being carried out in secret, far from any international oversight, posing serious risks to the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its historical landmarks.”

The governorate said Israel, through these excavations, seeks “to impose new facts on the ground to serve its plans to Judaize the city.”

It called on the international community, the United Nations and its cultural arm UNESCO, “to intervene immediately to stop these violations and hold the occupation accountable for its crimes.”

Though the governorate did not specify the exact location of the Israeli excavations, Tel Aviv has for years dug tunnels beneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque, actions Palestinians say are part of a wider plan to Judaize East Jerusalem.

Under international law, the Jordan-run Jerusalem Endowment Council is the sole body entitled to run the affairs of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In March 2013, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed an agreement granting Jordan the right of custodianship and defense of Jerusalem and the holy sites in Palestine, including Jerusalem.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.