Palestinians: Israel digs a warren of tunnels under the Old City

The Jerusalem Times 30 October 2001

It is no coincidence that the Israelis, especially the so-called Committee
against Destroying Remnants on Al-Aqsa Campus, are making noises concerning
what they call the 'destruction of remnants' in the area of Al-Aqsa. What is
actually happening beneath Al-Aqsa and around it, however, is an intensified
Israeli effort, described by Najeh Afana, president of Al-Aqsa Heritage
Committee, as the most threatening since Jerusalem was occupied in 1967.
Said Afana, "The Israelis always come up with lies to keep up busy and
create new realities in secret." As president of the Heritage Committee,
Afana has witnessed most of the Israeli work beneath and around the campus
and other Israeli measures that altered the face of the Holy City.
The most serious bit of information revealed by Afana is the digging of four
tunnels underneath the ground in the Old City, which begun around three
years ago. He explained, "There are four parallel tunnels connecting a
warren of burrows. One tunnel extends from Jaffa Gate to Dung Gate,
affording passage to Al-Buraq tunnel, known to the Israelis as 'Hashmonaim'.
Another tunnel travels from Dung Gate to Herod's Gate, a third goes from
Dung Gate to the Silwan Brook, and the fourth begins at Lion's Gate and
reaches the Hebrew University.
"The four tunnels are meant to create a metro-like system to enable the
Israelis to tighten their grip on the city. The digging will also weaken
structures in the area and ultimately cause them to collapse in anticipation
of the greater cause, namely, building a Jewish temple. We may awaken one
day to find that they have seized a large part of Al-Aqsa, the Marwani
prayer hall."

The Other Jerusalem
Afana insisted that work currently underway beneath the ground in Jerusalem
is paving the way for the Israelis to build a 'new' Jerusalem. "They have
already finished 25 percent of the 'other' Jerusalem. They ultimately plan
to reach Al-Aqsa Mosque and especially the area of the Dome of the Rock,
where a group of underground wells that have been turned into tunnels
exists."
The president of the Heritage Committee continued, saying that digging has
not yet reached Al-Aqsa but is halfway to the center of the courtyard. "If
they are able to control the Marwani prayer hall, they would be able to
cover that area very quickly."

The Southern Wall
The Israelis recently raised concern about the southern wall of Al-Aqsa,
warning that it may collapse. Resident architect on the campus of Al-Aqsa,
Isam Awwad, replied to Israeli warnings by saying that the construction unit
at the Islamic Endowments Directorate is watching the wall closely.
Said Afana, "I personally monitor what happens in Jerusalem. The slight
damage to the surface of the southern wall was caused by a structural
glitch. There was a mosque in that area with a niche known as the Daoud
Niche. A document said of the mosque, 'If the wind blows fiercely, move the
niche to the covered area of Al-Aqsa and keep it there'. Approximately 450
years ago an earthquake destroyed that mosque; when it was rebuilt, the wall
was not built properly, explaining the damage, which is non-threatening."
Afana believes in the value of keeping the Israelis busy with their own
measures concerning Al-Aqsa, putting them on the defensive instead of
keeping the Palestinians busy defending attempts to undertake renovation
efforts they are entitled to carry out.
"I call on all Arabs and Muslims to enlighten the other side in regard to
the violations against us. I must not hold a press conference to raise the
issue of the southern wall, but to demand that the Israelis leave Jerusalem
and remove the five checkpoints erected inside Lion's Gate and the police
center there. Even our graves at Al-Rahma Cemetery have been removed to make
way for [Jerusalem Mayor Ehud] Olmert. I have seen the Israelis face Al-Aqsa
in their prayers. We must awaken and establish a clear strategy with short-
and long-term objectives that aim to free Al-Aqsa of all foreign control and
liberate Jerusalem and many of our buildings and schools."

Waterways
Regarding the tunnels already existing beneath Al-Aqsa campus, Afana said,
"The tunnels are in fact ancient Roman aqueducts being broadened. There are
maps that clearly show the aqueducts beneath the Old City. In addition,
history books show a natural pathway at Daoud's Castle that leads to Dung
Gate."
Afana did not conceal his concern for Al-Aqsa, describing the threat to it
as"real" and more serious than ever before.
Over the 24 years I have spent working at Al-Aqsa I have never known it to
be in so much danger as it is right now. Just look at the difficulties we
are facing in trying to renovate Al-Aqsa. The Israelis confiscate building
materials headed for Al-Aqsa from time to time and place very stringent
conditions on construction. In addition, they have made sure that the number
of worshippers has ebbed from tens of thousands to no more than 15,000 at
times.
"It would be naive to say that things at Al-Aqsa are well. In fact, the
situation is very bad and the condition of the mosque is far from
satisfactory. There is a scheme to appropriate the mosque, which is no
longer implied but explicitly stated by Ariel Sharon.
"I am not saying the Israelis are going to control Al-Aqsa soon, but they
will find a foothold in it, most likely the Marwani prayer hall. The plan
calls for issuing military orders of some sort under scientific or
archaeological pretenses then awaiting or causing a collapse or structural
damage, which would lead them to open the entrances to the prayer hall and
explain their presence in it. We must think and plan ahead and must raise
issues other than the Marwani hall, such as the issue of the Faisal Gate and
what is happening there and also Al-Omariyyeh. We must resist attempts to
create new realities on the campus of the Noble Sanctuary." Al-Awda Magazine