The Palestinian National Council (PNC) affirmed that the responsibility of protecting Al-Aqsa Mosque and all Christian and Islamic holy sites, and providing the elements of resilience of Jerusalemites is primarily Arab and Islamic responsibility, in addition to preventing the consecration of the occupation plan of temporal and spatial division in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

On the 50th anniversary of the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque, PNC said that the city of Jerusalem, with its Islamic and Christian holy sites, its steadfast inhabitants, properties, homes, historical, cultural and religious heritage, continue to be subjected to systematic Israeli aggression with the aim of emptying it from its Palestinian population and Judaizing Jerusalem.

PNC called on the related parliaments, and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and all its institutions which were established after the fire of Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969 by a Jew named Michael Dennis Rohan, to defend and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque, to provide urgent financial and political support to Jerusalem, and to invest all OIC diplomatic, economic and financial capabilities to stop the continuation of crimes, and the continuing Israeli occupation in the holy city.

Palestinian people need practical steps and effective support to enable them to withstand, PNC added, and protect Al - Aqsa Mosque and the rights of the Arab and Islamic nations in the city of Jerusalem which is facing real danger that cannot be confronted by verbal positions only, but by actions.

PNC announced its support for the call of the Jordanian House of Representatives to convene an emergency session of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU) in Amman, to confront the violations and crimes of the Israeli occupation against Al-Aqsa Mosque, the city of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites, and take a firm and unified Arab parliamentary stance towards these aggressive policies and measures.

PNC presented the real dangers facing the city of Jerusalem and its sanctuaries, where the number of settlements exceeded 29, forming three girdles around the city, they encircle the area of the noble sanctuary of Jerusalem (Al-Aqsa Mosque surrounding), the Old City and the neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and Palestinian villages surrounding the city.

The Israeli occupation practices a policy of ethnic cleansing, PNC added, that includes the demolition of real estate, the abolition of Palestinian institutions, the obliteration of historical monuments, persecution and discrimination, expulsion of Jerusalemites, the confiscation of land and demolition of houses, and convert to Hebrew the Arabic names in the holy city.

PNC stressed that the city of Jerusalem is subjected also to undergoing change of historical and religious features, 105 synagogues are there in an attempt to falsify history, along with at least 28 tunnels, in addition to the implementation of 104 archaeological excavations in various locations, including 22 ongoing active excavations, most notably 4 excavations underneath and around Al-Aqsa Mosque, 5 excavations in Silwan, 5 excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem, and 8 excavations in different locations of Jerusalem.

The Palestinian National Council (PNC) demanded an Arab, Islamic and international action to deter the hysteria of the Israeli occupation and the settlers who stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and turned the sanctity of the place into a battlefield, and targeted Palestinian worshipers celebrating the blessed Eid Al-Adha to spoil their joy.
PNC said in a press statement issued by the Speaker, Mr. Saleem Al-Za’anoun that Israeli occupation forces brutal assault on Palestinian worshipers and the injury of dozens of them inside Al-Aqsa Mosque and its yards is a full-fledged crime that expresses a defiant challenge to all international values and covenants which prevent the desecration of places of worships, therefore it entails an urgent international protection for the Palestinian people and their holy sites.
PNC issued an urgent appeal to the Arab and Islamic parliaments which are representing their peoples to assume their responsibilities towards Al-Aqsa Mosque and Islamic and Christian holy sites, and to pressure their governments to turn the decisions related to Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque into actions, because what is happening is a disregard and blatant attack on the Arab and Islamic nations on the blessed Eid al-Adha.
PNC hailed the steadfastness of the Jerusalemites, who are confronting occupation forces and settlers, unarmed but with strong will, to respond to the call of Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray in, to defend it and face the intrusion plans called for by Israeli extremist and terror groups and the settlers government headed by Netanyahu.

The Palestinian National Council (PNC) stressed that the decision to stop the agreements with the Israeli occupation means a chapter closing of the transitional period that began in 1993, and a beginning of a new phase of steadfastness and open confrontation with the Israeli occupation, which entails ending the Palestinian divide and achieving national unity.

PNC announced In a press statement issued by the Speaker, Mr. Saleem Al-Za’anoun, on Friday to express the support and corroboration for this decision, which aligned with the commitment and implementation of the decisions of the PNC, and the decisions of the Central Council in its last four conventions, which considered that the transitional phase with all its commitments is void, and must move to the phase of establishing the institutions of the Palestinian state, and re-evaluate all the functions of the Palestinian Authority and its institutions.

PNC stressed that the Israeli occupation and Trump administration bear the responsibility for their aggressive policies and measures, which practically led to the cancellation of all these interim agreements, repudiated the relevant resolutions of the international legitimacy, and replaced them with the policy of dictation and punishment which is rejected by Palestinian people and leadership. Therefore, it is our right to defend our rights by all means approved by the charters and laws, first and foremost the Charter of the United Nations.

PNC called on all forces, factions and civil society organizations to engage in supporting and implementing the national decision on these agreements, and to take responsibility at this critical moment and to consolidate around the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the legitimate and sole representative of Palestinian people, whereas PLO framework of national unity is capable to confront Israeli occupation, and protect national rights of return and establishing the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy.

The Palestinian National Council (PNC) called upon the international community, its institutions and parliamentary unions to confront the crimes of ethnic cleansing carried out against the Palestinian citizens in Wadi Al-Hummus in Sur Baher, in light of the Israeli occupation's insistence on the demolition of 100 apartments.
PNC pointed out in its urgent letters directed by PNC Speaker Mr. Saleem Al-Za’anoun, addressing the various Arab, Islamic, European, Euro-Mediterranean and African Parliamentary Unions the violations of the Israeli occupation of international law, the Hague and Geneva Conventions, the UN resolutions and the peace agreements, targeting the demolition of houses, commercial and industrial firms, with the aim of changing the geographical, demographic and political reality in the Palestinian occupied territories, and separating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings.

Al-Za’anoun pointed out that these buildings in Wadi Al-Hummus in Sur Baher, southeast of occupied Jerusalem, received their Construction Permits from the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), knowing that the neighborhood falls within the classification of area "A" according to Oslo agreements, while PNA is authorized to issue Construction Permits and manage the area.

He called also the relevant international institutions to immediately intervene to prevent the occupation from completing the demolition of these buildings in Sur Baher and other threatened buildings in more than one place, and to compel Israeli occupation to abide by international law and international conventions.

Al-Za’anoun clarified in his letters that these acts amount to war crimes, which are being documented by several specialized international agencies, and will constitute the facts of the criminal file against the Israeli occupation. The criminal file should be activated and followed up on all levels including the International Criminal Court.

In its letters, PNC refuted the feeble pretexts used by the occupation to demolish these buildings, as they violated the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9th of July 2004, which demanded that Israel must stop constructing the apartheid wall, including works around Occupied East Jerusalem, dismantle the sections that have been completed, provide compensation to those affected and to restore the status quo.

PNC explained the Israeli occupation policy against Palestinian citizens in relation to building on their land, especially in the city of Jerusalem, while the municipality of the occupation organizes any Palestinian land seized by the Jewish settlers at the municipality expense, smoothly and easily.

PNC confirmed that the demolitions in the occupied city of Jerusalem recorded the largest percentage during the year 2018, which amounted to 45% of the total of these operations, where the Israeli occupation demolished 68 homes and 178 facilities, and the demolitions are concentrated inside the neighborhoods of Jerusalem city, which amounted to 146 houses and facilities, while it reached 100 houses and facilities outside the city of Jerusalem.

PNC reminded the world parliaments and its federations that the threat of demolition of these buildings is linked to the occupation policy since 1967. Since the end of June 2006, approximately 1440 Palestinian homes have been demolished, whereas, more than half of them in the occupied city of Jerusalem. However, since 1987, more than 6,000 houses have been demolished throughout the occupied Palestinian territories.

PNC requested the regional and international parliamentary federations to assume their responsibility for the crime of demolishing Palestinian homes, a crime classified as ethnic cleansing policy, and a grave violation of article 53 of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949 which prohibits the destruction of property, and Article 23 of the 4th Hague Convention 1907, which prohibits the occupying power from demolishing the homes and property of the citizens of the territories it occupies, as well as it’s a flagrant violation of article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, which states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property”.

Al-Za’anoun added that the destruction of Palestinian homes involves a complex crime that touches the spirit, mind and human dignity and touches the dimensions of human and national existence as a whole, because the people’s homes are the nests of their dreams and the shelter of their pain and joy. The worst is when the father is forced to demolish his home or part of it my himself, otherwise he should cover the demolition costs to the occupying authorities.

The Palestinian National Council (PNC) considered that the crime of Friedman, Greenblatt and the Israeli occupation authorities, to participate the settlers team opening a new settlement tunnel under the Silwan neighborhood south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is a new crime Trump administration participated in.
In a statement on Monday, PNC asserted that the Israeli occupation authorities - with official American participation - to attack the archaeological heritage and religious landmarks of Jerusalem are a clear challenge to the Arab and Islamic aspirations and a blatant provocation of Arab and Muslim feelings, and a clear disclosure of the extent of American and Israeli disregard for all United Nations and UNESCO resolutions, as well as resolutions of the Arab and Islamic summits
PNC called on the Arab and Islamic governments and their parliaments to shoulder their national and religious responsibilities and to translate words into actions to save Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian sanctities from the danger of Judaization and loss. PNC called on to watch the arrogant settler Friedman boasting along with the extreme rightist "Alad" organization, pushing the last stone of the tunnel.
PNC called on UNESCO and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to stop silence on American and Israeli behavior, which flagrantly violates all international resolutions on the city of Jerusalem and its cultural and human heritage. The Council warned of the explosion of a religious war in the region in the face of the imagination of the American-Israeli religious trend, which built its policies and procedures on the allegations and religious myths rejected by the facts of history and geography which are unknown to Trump and his Zionist team.
It should be noted that this tunnel starts from the historic Silwan pool and extends to the area under Al-Aqsa Mosque and the courtyard of Al-Buraq Wall (the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque). The tunnel is located at a depth of 15 meters while the length is about 600 meters. Basically the tunnel was an underground water channel hidden under the main street of the old town of Jerusalem and was uncovered by the excavations of the Israeli occupation.

The Political Committee of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) confirmed its absolute rejection of the American workshop in Manama and called on the Arab brothers to boycott it.

In a statement issued after its meeting at the headquarters of PNC in Amman on Monday, headed by Mr. Saleem Al-Za’anoun, Speaker of the PNC, and in presence of Father Constantine Qarmash, Deputy Speaker of the PNC, and Mr. Mohammed Sbaih, the Secretary of the PNC; The Political Committee rejected all the workshop efforts aimed at replacing the political solution with the economic solution, marketing the so-called "Deal of the Century", the normalization of relations with the occupying power, the ending of our right to self-determination, the return of refugees to homeland, and establishing of an independent and sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy.

The Committee assured that the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine is the main reason for the destruction of its economy, while its salvation is the only way to achieve prosperity and liberate the national economy from domination, subordination, annexation, and enabling our people and institutions to control its resources and natural and economic wealth.

The Committee stressed that the unity and consensus of the Palestinian public and official position, which was most evident in rejecting the "Deal of the Century" and its economic part (Bahrain Workshop), entails accelerating of ending the divide of Palestinians by implementing the reconciliation agreements, and enabling the Palestinian government to takeover in Gaza Strip to achieve the national unity, and to enable our people to steadfast with the leadership of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people. PLO is the mandate of the Palestinian people and the guarantor of its rights and representative of its interests. PLO did not delegate anyone to speak on behalf of Palestinian people or represent their interests, especially in this workshop called by Trump’s Administration.

It also called upon the Arab brothers to boycott the workshop, which was boycotted by major countries such as China, Russia, the European Union and many other Arab countries, and appreciate the position of peoples, states, trade unions, parties and heads of parliaments who refused normalization with Israel, and rejected the "Deal of the Century" and its economic part, including all projects and plans aimed at the liquidation of the rights of the Palestinian people.

In its statement, the Committee called for an official and popular Arab consensus to thwart the objectives of the workshop, which is suspicious of its objectives, outputs and applications. And to abide by the text and spirit of the resolutions of international legitimacy, the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002, the resolutions of the Arab and Islamic summits and the Non-bias countries that recognize the State of Palestine under occupation, the right to return to homeland, self-determination, and the establishment of Palestinian independent, national and sovereign state.

The Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Arab Parliament and the Union of Islamic Parliaments have also been invited to announce their rejection of the Bahrain Workshop, whose organizers want it to be an Arab platform to announce the launch of the "Deal of the Century", starting particularly with the economic part, in order to legitimize what has actually a US - Israeli decisions to replace the international references with new ones originated from the US administration and fully consistent with the Israeli vision to liquidate the Palestinian cause.

The Committee stressed the importance of informing the regional and international parliamentary unions on the reality of the objectives of this workshop, turning the Palestinian cause from the issue of the Palestinian people under occupation seek to liberate their homeland and return to, and achieve national independence, to a humanitarian cause, seeking to improve economic and living conditions under occupation, and turn the political solution of the Palestinian cause into an economic solution. However the real experiments proved that any economic development under Israeli occupation is impossible, especially that the nature of the Israeli occupation is a colonial and substitutive occupation based on the most extreme forms of apartheid, which undermine the development and progress, and based on the dominance of the racial and ethnic factors.

At the end of its statement, the Committee saluted our heroic people at home and the Diaspora, and its institutions and leadership headed by President Mahmoud Abbas for their steadfastness and their rejection of all conspiracies and projects for the liquidation of the Palestinian cause, and calling on all factions and forces to consolidate the leadership of the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and to give priority to national interests over narrow partisan interests.

In his speech in the opening of the meeting, Mr. Al-Za’anoun said that the Bahrain workshop will not bring good to our people, and that the Trump administration is trying to mislead the world public opinion that it is keen on Palestinian people and its prosperity, while the truth is Trump’s administration is selling illusions to Palestinians, trying to exchange the rights against money, forcing Palestinians to coexist with the occupation and accept the results of its aggressive decisions on the city of Jerusalem, the capital of our Palestinian state, and the liquidation of the refugee issue, and recognize the right of Israel to annex the Palestinian territories and colonize it.

Mr. Al-Za’anoun called on the Arab brothers not to deal with the outcomes of this workshop, because our people and leadership rejected it and refused to deal with its outputs which will not bring good to our people. Those who want to help our people and save them from their financial crisis do not wait for anyone. The door was always open to strengthen the Palestinians steadfastness before the Bahrain workshop. The door is still open. Jerusalem is waiting to be saved from Judaization and ethnic cleansing, and support the steadfastness of its people there. Now there are 100 Palestinian houses in Wadi Al-Homs/Sur Baher in Jerusalem waiting within days for demolition and displacement of its dwellers.

Mr. Al-Za’anoun said that the US administration continues its desperate attempts to impose its deal which is completely biased to the Israeli occupation with the aim of ending the Palestinian cause by replacing the solutions references based on international law and international legitimacy with the references of Trump and Netanyahu.

Over the past year and a half, the Trump administration and the occupation government have used all forms of pressure, extortion, financial blockade and other means to pass their bad deal, Mr. Al-Za’anoun continued "Our people and leadership under President Mahmoud Abbas steadfastly, bravely stood up for the Palestinian rights, resisted pressure and refused the deal and the workshop.

Mr. Al-Za’anoun stressed that we are confident of the solidity of our position and our ability to confront those who try to undermine our existence, identity, history and rights. The people and the leadership are united in rejecting this deal, refusing to bargain and resisting extortion wisely and powerfully, despite the threat, intimidation and lack of commitment of some to what they endorsed in Arab summits and initiatives that prevent normalization with the occupation before the withdrawal from our land and the establishment of our state.

Our position is clear and explicit, and we will not take advantage of our rights, Mr. Al-Za’anoun added, any justification for participating in this workshop under the pretext of contributing to the suffering of our people is an unconvincing argument. We are the owners of the case; we refused to participate in the Workshop and called for its boycott, because its goal is to replace the political solution with economic illusions.