| Rewriting history |
| Rewriting the history of the Land of Israel in order to deny Israel's right to exist is central to Palestinian Authority (PA) policy. Long before it started the PA terror campaign (the "Intifada," 2000-2005), the PA was fighting a history war – erasing Jewish history and replacing it with a fabricated Palestinian history. This rewriting has two central goals:
1- Erase the Jewish nation's 3,000 year history in the Land of Israel;
2- Invent ancient Palestinian, Muslim and Arab histories in the land.
The goal of this historical revision as a political strategy was first expressed publicly at a conference of Palestinian historians in 1998, when rewriting history was linked to the political goal of denying Israel's right to exist:
"Dr. Yussuf Alzamili [Chairman History Department, Khan Yunis Educational College] called on all universities and colleges to write the history of Palestine and to guard it, and not to enable the [foreign] implants and enemies to distort it or to legitimize the existence of Jews on this land... [History lecturer Abu Amar] clarified that there is no connection between the ancient generation of Jews and the new generation." [Al-Ayyam, Dec. 4, 1998].
Erasing Jewish history in the land of Israel is followed by the PA’s invention of ancient and modern histories that support its political ideology and claim to the land of Israel. The Holocaust and other aspects of Jewish history are alternately denied, downplayed or distorted. Another distortion is to hide from Palestinians that Jesus was a Jew who lived in the Land of Judea/Israel. PA leaders repeatedly define Jesus as a Palestinian who preached Islam, thus denying not only Jewish history, but also the history and legitimacy of Christianity.
Citing numerous examples, this section will document that these and other historical revisions are an integral part of Palestinian policy and are used to create political ideology. |
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| Heritage theft |
The PA policy of rewriting history in order to deny Israel’s right to exist is expressed in different ways. As noted above, the PA erases Jewish history and fabricates an ancient Palestinian history in an attempt to delegitimize Israel’s claim to the land. Another expression of this PA policy is the accusation of heritage theft, in which Israel is said to steal Palestinian heritage and history. According to this logic, Israel has no heritage of its own in the land and must therefore resort to stealing Palestinian heritage in order to justify its claim to the land.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas himself propagated this libel, reported in the PA official daily:
"President Abbas emphasized… ‘We know that they (i.e., Israelis) are trying to change its landmarks, to change our land, and to build over our homes and over the graves of our people, in order to erase the traces of the Palestinian people, but they will not succeed.'” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 1, 2012]
The same accusation was made on PA TV by a newscaster reporting on a folkdance festival in the Ramallah district:
"[The dance groups] are directing a message to the entire world, that the Palestinian nation still retains its identity and its cultural heritage, while Israel attempts to steal this heritage." [PA TV (Fatah), July 15, 2011]
 At the same time that the PA promotes the libel of Israeli heritage theft, the PA itself frequently claims Jewish history in the land of Israel as its own. Since the Palestinian Authority was established under the Oslo Accords in 1993, the PA has undertaken a rewriting of history which includes the misappropriation of Jewish history, artifacts, traditions, texts, as if they had a Palestinian historical connection.
In one striking example, the official PA paper claimed that a Hebrew shekel coin from 66 CE was in fact “an ancient Palestinian coin.” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 4, 2012] The coin, with ancient Hebrew lettering that reads “Shekel of Israel [Year] 1,” can be seen above.
Similarly, a song broadcast on PA TV mimicked the Jewish biblical expression from Psalms, “If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill” [Psalms 137:5]. The song appropriates Jewish longing for Jerusalem with lyrics that clearly imitate the Jewish biblical verse:
"May my right arm forget me, may my left arm forget me.
May the light of my eyes and the openings of songs forget me, if I forget Jerusalem."
[PA TV (Fatah), March 11, 2012]
This section documents the PA’s mimicking and expropriating of Jewish tradition as well as the libel that Israel steals Palestinian heritage in order to forge a “false” Jewish connection to the land:
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Fatah thanks boycotters of Jerusalem municipal elections; Jerusalemite Palestinians are "the Canaanite owners of the land" whose history, holy places, and heritage are being "erased"
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 31, 2018
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“The Fatah Movement saluted with honor and appreciation ‘the members of our people and our heroes, the residents of Jerusalem, who have proven for the 1,001st time that Jerusalem, with its residents, alleys, mosques, and churches, is purely Arab-Palestinian – thus it was and thus it will remain.’ [Fatah] Revolutionary Council member and [Fatah] Movement Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi said in a press release last night [Oct. 30, 2018] in response to the Jerusalem residents’ complete boycott what is called ‘the Jerusalem municipal elections’: ‘The iron commitment of the Canaanite owners of the land, the residents of Jerusalem, to boycott the elections conveys a strong and clear message: Despite all the attempts to forge history… the members of our splendid people in Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, have proven through their national awareness that they are unified against the plans that target their history, their present, their future, their holy sites, and all the elements of their cultural heritage, and that the national memory is much stronger than their failed attempts to erase it.’"
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PA TV: Israel steals the Palestinian heritage, including the falafel and hummus
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Official Palestinian Authority TV, Oct. 3, 2018
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Official PA TV program Palestine This Morning, live broadcast from a Palestinian food festival
Official PA TV reporter: “We are talking about a brutal attack against the Palestinian heritage in general, including Palestinian foods. There has been theft of the Palestinian falafel, the Palestinian hummus, and some popular foods by the occupation. Holding [food] festivals like these is essential in order to preserve the heritage and also the Palestinian foods.”
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PA Ministry of Culture: The Palestinian heritage is “subject to theft, forgery, and distortion”
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 30, 2018
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Headline: "Bessaiso praised Widad Kawar’s role in preserving the heritage concerning Palestinian clothing"
"[PA] Minister of Culture Ehab Bessaiso emphasized the importance of the role that has been and is being filled by researcher and expert in the field of heritage Widad Kawar, the founder and director of the Tiraz Museum in the capital of Jordan, Amman… The [PA] Ministry of Culture recently signed a work agreement with Kawar regarding the preparation of comprehensive scientific research under the title Palestinian Clothing After the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” the Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel), as she is an expert in the field of research regarding heritage in general, and Palestinian clothing in particular. This agreement constitutes part of the ministry’s efforts to preserve and protect the heritage, with Palestinian clothing being one of the prominent foundations of this heritage, as it expresses the lives of the Palestinians throughout the decades and is one of the elements of our heritage that is subject to theft, forgery, and distortion."
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PA deputy district governor accuses Israel of stealing Palestinian heritage; "The antiquities in all of Palestine prove that the land of Palestine is an Arab-Canaanite land”
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 25, 2018
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Headline: "Qalqilya: A seminar to introduce the new Palestinian Cultural and Material Heritage Law"
"The Qalqilya district organized a seminar yesterday, in cooperation with the [PA] Ministry of Tourism [and] under the sponsorship of District Governor of Qalqilya Rafe' Rawajbeh, to introduce the new Palestinian Cultural and Material Heritage Law.
Deputy District Governor [of Qalqilya] Husam Abu Hamda and [PA] Deputy Minister of Tourism Ali Abu Sorour participated in the seminar… Abu Hamda emphasized the importance of the new law in protecting the heritage, the identity, and the Palestinian existence. He referred to the situation in the Qalqilya district and to the fact that it is targeted by the occupation and its settlers, who are attempting to steal every Palestinian thing… The deputy district governor… said: 'Our struggle with the occupation is a struggle over the identity, the land, and the heritage. The antiquities in all of Palestine prove that the land of Palestine is an Arab-Canaanite land.'"
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PA Education Minister: Israeli accusation that PA schoolbooks incite is “a lie and a falsehood,” Israeli curriculum incites against Palestinians and attempts to “erase their history and geography”
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 20, 2018
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Headline: “[PA] Ministry of Education: Israel is continuing to incite against our education system”
“The [PA] Ministry of Education and Higher Education emphasized that Israel is continuing to incite against the Palestinian education system… During his meeting with European Parliament member Eider Gardiazabal Rubial… [PA] Minister [of Education Sabri Saidam] briefed the parliament member on the occupation’s violations and its wild attack against the Palestinian schoolbooks… Saidam reemphasized that everyone is welcome to examine the Palestinian schoolbooks, and noted that Israel is the first and foremost inciter against the [PA] education. He added that its accusation, according to which the national schoolbooks incite, is a lie and a falsehood. Saidam called on everyone to examine the Israeli schoolbooks in order to understand the scope of the incitement against the Palestinians and the attempt to erase their history and geography.”
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PA TV lies, claims “Palestinian antiquities” at Judean fortress of Herodium
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Official Palestinian Authority TV, Sept. 19, 2018
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Official PA TV newsreader: "The occupation authorities continue to falsify and steal Palestinian antiquities at the archaeological site at the Herodium fortress..."
Official PA TV reporter: "The occupation tries to exploit the heritage sites for the benefit of the Israeli narrative: the existence of Jewish history on the land of Palestine. Therefore it is intentionally falsifying the facts, searching for false antiquities in this land, and striving to erase the Arab landmarks that contradict its narrative. Israeli attempts to falsify [the land's] Palestinian character [continue] at this important archaeological site."
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Note: 1980 years before the creation in 1965 of the “Palestinian people,” Judean King Herod built a palace fortress at Herodium, south of Jerusalem. There are no “Palestinian antiquities” at Herodium or anywhere in the land of Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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Abbas’ advisor: Israel wants to “establish a false racist reality at the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine;” Netanyahu has allowed Israeli MPs to “invade” and “defile” the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s plazas
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 11, 2018
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“Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash said that ‘The occupation state is attempting to invest efforts through all its branches – the security, political, and religious branches – in order to establish a false racist reality at the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine, but this is in vain because their false narrative lacks historical, heritage, and cultural facts in Palestine. In response to a group of extremist settlers engraving what is called ‘the Ten Commandments’ on the stones of the holy site of Hebron (refers to unconfirmed P alestinian reports that Jews engraved the Ten Commandments on a door of the Cave of the Patriarchs –Ed.), Al-Habbash said that this attack is considered a dangerous escalation in the series of daily attacks against the holy sites in Jerusalem and Hebron. This crime represents theft and forgery of our Islamic-Palestinian heritage at our holy sites and our mosques in broad daylight. He added that the series of Israeli crimes against the holy sites has severely escalated due to occupation [Israeli] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to allow the Israeli Parliament members to invade the Al-Aqsa Mosque plazas and defile them (i.e., he lifted his ban on visits; see note below).”
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Guest on PA TV accuses Israel of stealing the Palestinian heritage and culture
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Official Palestinian Authority TV, June 28, 2018
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Official PA TV program Palestine This Morning, hosting Director of the Palestinian Heritage Center in Bethlehem Maha Saca
Official PA TV host: “First, tell us about your role in preserving the heritage, especially against Israeli theft.”
Director of the Palestinian Heritage Center in Bethlehem Maha Saca: “…I always say that after Israel stole the land and changed its contours, it didn’t find a heritage with which to defend its presence on this Palestinian land, so it began to steal parts of our heritage – our popular foods, our music, our traditional clothing, and even the Palestinian keffiyeh (i.e., Arab headdress)... This Palestinian keffiyeh has been presented in several Israeli exhibitions and Israeli models and beauty queens have worn it. They have even attempted to distort the significance of the Palestinian keffiyeh, which is a symbol of our Palestinian struggle since the Palestinian uprising. Of course the Palestinian rebels have worn it since 1936. Of course [former PLO and PA Chairman] Yasser Arafat also wore it, and now it has become a symbol for every Palestinian fighter and every supporter of the Palestinian cause. Therefore we need to use this heritage so that it will remain our possession.”
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PA officials deny Jewish connection to Cave of the Patriarchs, and accuse Israel of “forgery of history and the cultural heritage of the holy sites” in Jerusalem and Hebron
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 26, 2018
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“Director and Guardian of the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) Sheikh Hafzi Abu Sneineh condemned [Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Eli] Cohen’s b reaking into the Ibrahimi Mosque (PMW found no record of Cohen recently visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs –Ed.)… He considered his presence unacceptable and offensive to the sensibilities of the Muslims. He said: ‘The Ibrahimi Mosque is solely a Muslim mosque with all of its territory and parts – the interior and exterior ones. The Jews have no connection at all to the Ibrahimi Mosque (sic., the Jewish Patriarchs and Matriarchs other than Rachel are buried at the site)…'
Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash strongly condemned Cohen’s invasion of the Ibrahimi Mosque under the protection of the Israeli occupation army. In a press release yesterday [June 25, 2018], he said that the attempts of the ruling institution in Israel to establish a new reality at the Islamic sites in the cities of Jerusalem and Hebron will fail and never succeed, because they are based on lies and have no historical, religious, or legal basis.”
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Abbas advisor warns of “desecration” of music performances against Cave of the Patriarchs; demands Palestinians “defend their holy sites, carry out Ribat in them" and punish Israel for "the crimes and acts of forgery of the culture and history”
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WAFA, official PA news agency, June 22, 2018
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Headline: “Al-Habbash warned against the consequences of the Israeli attack against the Ibrahimi Mosque”
“Supreme Shari’ah Judge of Palestine and [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas’] advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash warned of the desecration and attack against the sanctity of the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hebron, due to the fact that Israeli terror groups organized music and s inging performances that were conveyed in a direct broadcast on the official Israeli media outlets… Al-Habbash demanded that the members of the Palestinian people defend their holy sites, carry out Ribat (i.e., religious conflict/war over land claimed to be Islamic) in them, increase their presence within them, go out against the occupation state’s crazy attack, and unify ranks behind the leadership in order to defend the holy sites and punish the occupation state for the crimes and acts of forgery of the culture and history that it is committing.”
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PA Hebron Municipality calls on UNESCO to “to defend the Ibrahimi Mosque from Judaization and change, and the theft of its Islamic characteristics” by Israel
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 22, 2018
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Headline: "Condemnations of the aggression against the Ibrahimi Mosque and the opening of a police station of the occupation there"
"The [PA] national unity government demanded that the international community and the international organizations and bodies, and primarily UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), take responsibility in light of the occupation's ongoing aggression against the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e. Cave of the Patriarchs). Official Government Spokesman Yusuf Al-Mahmoud warned yesterday [June 21, 2018] against the results of the settlers' announcement of a musical performance being held within the mosque, in conjunction with the opening of a police station of the occupation within it… The Hebron Municipality also demanded that UNESCO intervene immediately in order to defend the Ibrahimi Mosque from Judaization and change, and the theft of its Islamic characteristics by the Israeli occupation."
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Op-ed in PA daily: Ceremony opening US embassy in Jerusalem was the “celebration of a Zionist gang of robbers who stole the history and land”
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 16, 2018
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Excerpt of an op-ed by Bassem Barhoum, regular columnist for the official PA daily
“Before I watched the Zionist ceremony establishing the American outpost in occupied Palestinian Jerusalem (i.e., the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018) I was very concerned like all of the Palestinians in the world watching their Jerusalem being Judaized in an attempt to eliminate our cause. However, after watching I calmed down again. The reason for this is that what I saw was nothing more than a gang of Zionist robbers celebrating its theft... What confirms this impression – that this is the celebration of a Zionist gang of robbers who stole the history and land – is the almost complete international absence… After I watched the gang of robbers I felt great relief, because what I saw was an isolated gang acting outside of the framework of time and space, outside of the framework of history and law; a gang led by [US President Donald] Trump and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, together with blonde model Ivanka [Trump] and her little Zionist husband [Jared] Kushner.”
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PA Education Ministry: Israel is “distorting” the PA curriculum, as part of “racist plans” to “occupy the collective consciousness and harm the Palestinian historical narrative”
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 28, 2018
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“The [PA] Ministry of Education and Higher Education condemned the occupation municipality in Jerusalem for distorting the Palestinian [PA] curriculum, and said that this act is a despicable crime of forgery.
It emphasized that the religious ruling issued by the Palestinian Dar Al-Ifta (lit. house of religious rulings, the office of the PA Mufti of Jerusalem –Ed.) on Sept. 20, 2017, which bans teaching the Israeli curriculum in the Palestinian schools in Jerusalem, is valid to this day. On the same matter, the ministry emphasized that it will thwart any attempt and policy whose goal is to distort the curricula… and will thwart all of the racist plans whose goal is to occupy the collective consciousness and harm the Palestinian historical narrative… [PA Minister of Education and Fatah Central Committee Deputy Secretary Dr. Sabri] Saidam noted that the distortion of the national curricula in Jerusalem by removing several lessons and pictures and manipulating the contents again reveals the occupation authorities’ intentions, and their attempts to deprive the young generations of their national history and culture.”
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PA government condemns proposed Israeli legislation on terror salaries: Israel was established “on the basis of the theft of the Palestinian people’s land, property, money, books, heritage, and antiquities”
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 21, 2018
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Headline: “The [PA] government condemns the Israeli escalation against the Gaza Strip and the theft of Palestinian money”
“The [PA] government condemned the approval of the racist law to deduct the allowances (mukhassasat) of the prisoners and the Martyrs’ (Shahids) families from the Palestinian tax money in the Israeli Ministerial Committee [for Legislation] (see note below –Ed.). It emphasized that Israel, which was established on the basis of the theft of the Palestinian people’s land, property, money, books, heritage, and antiquities, is continuing with its actions with which it began 70 years ago.”
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PLO official: Criticism of Palestinian education system and schoolbooks is Israeli attempt “to erase the national identity and Israelize it through their fabricated narrative”
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 12, 2018
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Headline: “Al-Sudani: We oppose any interference in the Palestinian schoolbooks”
“Palestinian [PLO] National Committee for Education, Culture, and Science Secretary-General Murad Al-Sudani emphasized that the occupation authorities’ ongoing violations against the Palestinian education system and Palestinian schoolbooks are unacceptable because this is a part of Palestinian sovereignty. In an interview with Radio Mawtini yesterday [Jan. 11, 2018], Al-Sudani said that the occupation authorities are attempting to erase the national identity and Israelize it through their fabricated narrative. He added that the Palestinian curriculum is a red line and national security for Palestine - it expresses the collective consciousness, and there is no reason to erase all that is connected to the Palestinian national heritage and identity, the stages of the Palestinian revolution, and the details of the Palestinian cause.”
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Dir. of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordanian Waqf: No archaeological proof there was Jewish presence in Jerusalem, Israel ignores Arab Islamic heritage, tries to erase it
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Official Palestinian Authority TV, Dec. 22, 2017
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Official PA TV program Good Morning Jerusalem, on a new synagogue that opened in the Western Wall tunnels on Dec. 19, 2017, hosting Director of Tourism and Antiquities of the Jordanian Waqf Dr. Yusuf Al-Natsheh
Official PA TV host: “Underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque (sic., it is not under the Al-Aqsa Mosque) a Jewish synagogue was inaugurated after 12 years of excavation and quarrying in the area… Even though the excavations continued for many years, the Hebrew finds or antiquities that they claim were found there were not found at all (sic., numerous Jewish artifacts were discovered at the site).” […]
Director of Tourism and Antiquities of the Jordanian Waqf Dr. Yusuf Al-Natsheh: “The matter of the antiquities and heritage is a fundamental part of the Israeli narrative... The antiquities constitute a fundamental matter in the Israeli Zionist thinking, because they want to prove to the world and to others… that they are not ‘coming’ to the country but rather ‘returning.’ In other words, that they have roots, and that these antiquities - they are exploiting Western science and the significance of the science of archaeology… and in this way they want to rely on finds that will justify their presence and justify the injustice of the cause of Palestine and the cause of Jerusalem… They are ignoring the other layers and not relating to anything that has a connection to the Arab Islamic heritage, but rather are striving to erase it.” […]
Host: “The occupation authorities have transferred this activity from excavation and search actions to planting the Talmudic (i.e., Jewish) narrative in service of the Zionist narrative in the end, and their religious rights as you noted – that they are ‘returning.’”
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PA Religious Affairs Ministry: New synagogue near Western Wall is an attempt to "erase Jerusalem history, blot out cultures, and unjustly give a false Talmudic Jewish flavor to the area”
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Wattan (independent Palestinian news agency), Dec. 20, 2017
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Headline: "[PA] Ministry of Religious Affairs: The Jewish synagogue under the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the erasure of Jerusalem history"
"The Jerusalem unit of the [PA] Ministry of Religious Affairs condemned the fact that the occupation authorities have opened a new Jewish synagogue in the Al-Buraq Wall (i.e., the Western Wall of the Temple Mount) Tunnels under the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and emphasized that its goal is to erase Jerusalem history.
The unit noted in a press statement today, Wednesday [Dec. 20, 2017], that the synagogue is surrounded by Jerusalem historical characteristics that belong to the Islamic period, but the occupation claims that these characteristics, property, and assets belong to them.
Director-General of the Jerusalem Unit and of Public Relations in the ministry Amir Abu Al-Amrin said that Israel's plan that was carried out recently is a blatant violation and true provocation of the Muslims’ sensibilities, and a coarse attempt to erase Jerusalem history, blot out cultures, and unjustly give a false Talmudic Jewish flavor to the area."
The Al-Buraq Wall - Islam's Prophet Muhammad is said to have rode during his Night Journey from Mecca to "al aqsa mosque", i.e., "the farthest mosque" (Quran, Sura 17), and there tied his miraculous flying steed named Al-Buraq to a "stone" or a "rock." (Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Book 47, Hadith 3424). In the 1920's, Arab Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini decided to identify the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem as that "rock" or "stone," and since then Muslims refer to the Western Wall as the "Al-Buraq Wall."
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PA Minister of Tourism: Israel, not Hamas, is behind destruction of archaeological sites in Gaza in order to “erase the Palestinian narrative in the face of the occupation’s false Israeli narrative”
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 16, 2017
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“In 1998, the PA appointed a French delegation… to conduct excavations at the Tel Es-Sakan archaeological site, which is in the Al-Zahra area in the south of the city of Gaza, but these days it is being leveled and destroyed, despite the decision of the [PA] Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities that defines this as a crime.
[PA] Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Rula Maa’yaa emphasized yesterday [Nov. 15, 2017] that, ‘All of the activities of leveling the ground and destruction at the Tel Es-Sakan archaeological site are illegal’... Historians and experts say that this is an archaeological site from the ancient Bronze Age (3,300-2,300 BCE), and that it is the most ancient fortified Egyptian administrative center in Palestine…
Maa’yaa emphasized that there is no connection between these activities and the Palestinian people... She said that those who are doing this are pawns of the occupation (sic., Hamas has been destroying the site to create military bases), who are serving to erase the Palestinian narrative in the face of the occupation’s false Israeli narrative, according to which it has first rights to the land of Palestine, and this is by destroying the archaeological and historical sites in Palestine.”
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PLO education official: Israel has falsified Jerusalem's "consciousness and memory," excavates under the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to steal it, and appropriates Palestinian culture
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Official Palestinian Authority TV, Nov. 14, 2017
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Official PA TV program Palestine This Morning, on PA Ambassador to UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) Mounir Anastas being appointed Rapporteur of the UNESCO Cultural Committee, hosting Secretary-General of the PLO Palestinian National Council for Education, Culture, and Science Murad Al-Sudani
Secretary-General of the PLO Palestinian National Council for Education, Culture, and Science Murad Al-Sudani: ""There is no time, hour, minute, day, month, or week that it [Israel] does not penetrate the innards of the city [Jerusalem] in order to falsify its consciousness and memory, and in order to excavate under the Al-Aqsa Mosque and above it with the goal of stealing...
[The Israelis] have attributed to themselves the Palestinian Viper (i.e., known as the Viper of the Land of Israel and the scientific name Vipera Palaestinae), the Palestinian Gazelle (i.e., known as the Gazelle of the Land of Israel), Palestinian embroidery, the Palestinian debka (i.e., a type of dance), the Palestinian keffiyeh (i.e., Arab headdress), and most of the Palestinian foods – humus, the broad bean, falafel, [and] shakshouka (i.e., an egg and tomato dish). They steal all of these items in order to create a culture for a people without a culture."
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PA Ministry of Information accuses Israel of stealing Palestinian heritage, calls on UNESCO to try Israel for its “crimes;” Israel’s right to exist is “false” and depends solely on the Balfour Declaration
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Official PA daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 7, 2017
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"The [PA] Ministry of Information reiterated on Palestinian Heritage Day that took place today, Saturday [Oct. 7, 2017], that our cultural and human heritage, with all of its components, will continue to resist Israelization and throw off all of the types of terror of the occupation that fabricate, distort, and steal everything Palestinian.
The ministry said in a notice yesterday that Palestine – the people, country, history, and national identity – is the first line of the defense of our heritage, and it is the resistance that does not wane due to the attempts of theft and robbery of the components of our heritage – attempts that include pursuing our popular foods, our national songs... [and] fabrication of the names of our cities, villages, ravines, mountains, and plains.
The ministry urged UNESCO ((UN Educational Scientific, Cultural Organization) and all of the frameworks that deal with heritage and culture to protect the cultural and natural heritage of Palestine, and to try Israel for its ongoing crimes against the land and mankind... 'Israel' will not succeed in skipping over history – which did not begin with its false stories, its Zionist movement, or its settlement and expansion project, which depends solely on the personal promise of the foreign secretary of another state [British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour]!”
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