Palestinian Leader Salah lauds Qatar's strong support for al-Aqsa: Always in defense of Al-Aqsa, Palestine
04 August 2017Qatar is one of the
strongest supporters of Occupied Jerusalem and holy al-Aqsa Mosque, Head of
the Islamic Movement in 1948 Occupied Palestine, Sheikh Raed Salah, said.
According to Sheikh Salah, Qatar has had the lion's share in initiatives
supporting the sit-inners at al-Aqsa Mosque and boosting reconstruction in
Occupied Jerusalem.
Speaking with al-Sharq daily, Sheikh Salah said the Palestinians forced Israel
to remove the metal detectors and security installations around al-Aqsa
Mosque.
“Palestinians' steadfastness took the wind out of Israel's sails,” said Salah
as he lauded the Palestinian young men who have stood as bulletproof vests for
al-Aqsa Mosque.
Salah calls for establishing unified leadership to protect J'lem
Head of the Islamic Movement in the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories,
Sheikh Raed Salah, called on Friday for establishing a unified Palestinian
leadership to support Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sheikh Salah said in his Friday sermon in Umm al-Fahm city that efforts must
be united to be able to confront the Israeli practices in Occupied Jerusalem.
He asked the Palestinian people to continue to perform Friday prayer outside
mosques in support of the Jerusalemite worshipers protesting at al-Aqsa
Mosque's gates.
Al-Aqsa Mosque witnessed on Friday an intensified presence of Palestinian
masses coming from the 1948 occupied territories, Jerusalem and the West Bank
in support of the holy site against the latest Israeli measures.
Um Al-Fahm: Always in defense of Al-Aqsa, Palestine
At the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, three Palestinians from Um Al-Fahm city
carried out a shooting attack on Friday morning, July 14, killing two Israeli
occupation officers, before they were killed at the hands of Israeli
policemen.
This shooting was only the latest manifestation of a revolutionary spirit of
an Arab-Muslim thought in the hearts of the people of this city, located in
the heart of the northern 1948 occupied Palestine, which for nine decades had
shown outstanding courage in defense of Palestine and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The largest area
Um Al-Fahm is located to the north of the Palestinian Triangle area. It was
affiliated with the Jenin province before the Nakba. On the eve of the Nakba,
the Iraqi forces entered the city and remained there for about a year before
handing the city over to the Jordanian forces which handed it over to Israel
under the Armistice Agreement of 1949, (Rhodes Agreement). Its inhabitants
stayed there and did not leave it.
Um Al-Fahm was the largest city in Palestine, with an area of 150,000 dunums,
of which only 22,000 dunums remain today. An estimated number of 52,000
Palestinians live there today. The city has the second largest Palestinian
population in the 1948 Occupied Territories after Nazareth.
The name of the city was associated with coal (Fahm), which was produced in
the city in large quantities throughout the ages, and because of the trade of
coal by its people, which was the main source of livelihood for them for
generations.
The first time Um Al-Fahm was mentioned in history was in the year 1265, when
the famous Muslim leader Al-Zaher Baybars gave it to Prince Jamal Al-Din Akush
Al-Nujaibi and its borders reached Caesarea town.
Um Al-Fahm consists of four famous alleys: Mahamid, Mahajneh, Jabarin, and
Igbaria. Most of the local families came from the Hebron area, namely Beit
Jibrin and Tel Safi.
A history of revolution
The people of Um Al-Fahm are proud of their long history of resistance and
rejection of colonialism and occupation, during which the city continued to
breed revolutionaries in defense of Palestine.
During the British colonization of Palestine, the people of Um Al-Fahm fought
many battles against the colonizers.
The most prominent battles were the Battle of the School, which took place
between the locals and the British forces on 30 January, 1930, and the battle
of Ein Zaytouna, which took place on 19 September, 1938, during which the
rebels inflicted heavy losses among the invading troops.
Following its occupation by Israel, the city remained a hotbed of constant
tension that disturbed the occupation and its security apparatuses, because of
the strong national spirit and its people's refusal of subjugation to the
occupiers.
There were many clashes between the occupation and the people of Um Al-Fahm,
most notably in May 1958, the Land Day clashes in 1976, and the Al-Ruha
clashes in 1998, following the occupation's decision to confiscate thousands
of dunums of land from the Ruha area of Um Al-Fahm for military training.
Because of its advanced role and the steadfastness of its people and their
pride in their Palestinian national identity, Israel always viewed Um Al-Fahm
as the most 'extremist' Arab city in the 1948 Occupied Palestine. The city was
the target of aggressive tactics by some Israeli fanatics, which aimed at
forcing the city's population to consider deserting it.
The most prominent of such tactics was carried out by the leader of the Kach
movement Rabbi Meir Kahana, who made a provocative visit to the city in 1984,
calling on its population to migrate to Arab countries, as well as the two
provocative visits made by the right-wing activist Baruch Marzel in 2009 and
2010, to incite against banning the Islamic Movement.
The Sheikh of Al-Aqsa and its supporter
When Um Al-Fahm is mentioned, Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic
Movement in the 1948 Occupied Territories, and the mayor of Um Al-Fahm for 12
years, who dedicated his time and effort to serve and defend Al-Aqsa Mosque,
comes to mind.
Sheikh Salah's role in the maintenance of Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy
shrines began to increase in 1996, when he managed to foil many Israeli plans
aimed at emptying Al-Aqsa Mosque from worshipers.
Sheikh Salah succeeded in reconstructing the Marwani Mosque and opening its
gates. He reconstructed the old Aqsa Mosque, cleaning its yards and lighting
it, setting up toilets and ablution units, as well as organizing Quran
memorization groups in the terraces of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He also contributed to the establishment of Al-Aqsa Children Fund, which aims
to support the reconstruction projects of Al-Aqsa Mosque and link children
with the issue of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Sheikh Salah revived the love of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the hearts of Palestinians
in the 1948 Territories, by highlighting the Israeli threats against it, by
organizing an annual carnival called 'Al-Aqsa in Danger', which was held in Um
Al-Fahm annually and was attended by tens of thousands of Palestinians.
He also revived the Muslim presence at Al-Aqsa Mosque, through the March of
Banners, in which buses from all Arab towns of the 1948 Occupied Territories
took part.
Sheikh Salah and several people from Um Al-Fahm paid a heavy price for
defending Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In 2000, Um Al-Fahm played a prominent role in the angry protests that
followed the then Israeli premier Ariel Sharon's desecration of Al-Aqsa
Mosque. Three young men from Um Al-Fahm were martyred and hundreds were
injured in those protests.
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EsinIslam.Com
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