{"id":134,"date":"2016-10-22T07:43:18","date_gmt":"2016-10-22T07:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/?p=134"},"modified":"2017-06-26T14:04:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-26T14:04:00","slug":"unesco-resolution-on-al-aqsa-mosque-an-interview-with-ramzy-baroud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/2016\/10\/22\/unesco-resolution-on-al-aqsa-mosque-an-interview-with-ramzy-baroud\/","title":{"rendered":"UNESCO Resolution on Al-Aqsa Mosque \u2013 An Interview with Ramzy Baroud"},"content":{"rendered":"
(Posted by Dr. Vacy Vlazna<\/a><\/span> on Palestine\/Israel)<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\u2018While the resolution will unlikely alter the nature of the conflict fundamentally, it rejects \u2013 legally and morally \u2013 all Israeli efforts aimed at denying the rights of Muslims \u2013 and Christians \u2013 in their city, which they aspire to make their future capital,\u2019 said Ramzy Baroud, the editor of Palestine Chronicle.<\/b><\/p>\n

In an interview with Muslim Press, Dr. Ramzy Baroud discusses Israeli Palestinian conflict and UNESCO\u2019s latest resolution that strongly condemn the Zionist regime<\/p>\n

In what follows, full transcription of the interview has been provided.<\/p>\n

Muslim Press: Dr. Ramzy Baroud, What\u2019s your take on UNESCO\u2019s latest resolution that strongly condemns Israel and its aggression against Palestinians? How would this measure change Israeli-Palestinian conflict?<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Dr
Dr Ramzy Baroud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ramzy Baroud: First, let me clarify some misunderstanding regarding the UNESCO resolution.<\/p>\n

The resolution, as Israel and its supporters claim, didn\u2019t deny Jewish links to Jerusalem. To the contrary, it emphasized the spiritual and religious important of Jerusalem to the three monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism.<\/p>\n

What it did, however, is that it emphasized the Muslim Arabic heritage of al-Aqsa Mosque, using the Arabic wording for it \u2013 Al-Aqsa Mosque, not the \u2018Temple Mount\u2019 as Jews prefer to call it.<\/p>\n

This is important. Why? Because, Israel \u2013 the government in Tel Aviv, the municipality of the Israeli occupation in the city itself, and well-funded religious extremist groups \u2013 have constantly plotted to achieve the opposite of what UNESCO resolved:<\/p>\n

\"Haram
Haram al-Sharif<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \n
  • Deny Muslim worshipers access to their holy sites in Haram al-Sharif compound \u2013 which includes, among numerous religious sites, the Dome of the Rock Mosque and al-Aqsa Mosque.<\/li>\n
  • Facilitate \u2018visits\u2019 for religious Jewish fanatics, joined by armed Israeli army and police forces to the Muslim sites.<\/li>\n
  • Reject the obvious Muslim connection to that holy place, and emphasize religious myths that propagate the existence of a third Jewish temple under the Mosque; the ultimate objective being to demolish the Mosque and rebuild the alleged temple.<\/li>\n
  • Continue to dig under al-Haram and other parts of historic Jerusalem in search for any evidence that supports the \u2018Third Temple\u2019 claims.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Hundreds of Muslims were killed while trying to defend the mosque over the years, and al-Aqsa in particular has become a symbol of Palestinian Resistance.<\/p>\n

    The UNESCO resolution \u2013 which also insists on the illegality of the Israeli occupation and annexation of Arab East Jerusalem \u2013 was a blow to Israeli efforts aimed at the complete judaization of the Palestinian city.<\/p>\n

    While the resolution will unlikely alter the nature of the conflict fundamentally, it rejects \u2013 legally and morally \u2013 all Israeli efforts aimed at denying the rights of Muslims \u2013 and Christians \u2013 in their city, which they aspire to make their future capital.<\/p>\n

    MP: Benjamin Netanyahu has said that \u201cUNESCO has lost its legitimacy by adopting this resolution\u201d. What could you say about his reaction to this resolution? How do you see the future of Israeli relations with UNESCO and the UN?<\/b><\/p>\n

    Ramzy Baroud: Netanyahu says a lot of things. He has always been quite belligerent and is hardly cautious with the language he uses. For example, his annual speeches before the UN itself is a constant attempt at delegitimizing the world\u2019s leading international institution. It is his only defense mechanism as he feels \u2013 rightly so \u2013 that Palestinian efforts, combined with their efforts of their friends and allies, have succeeded in delegitimizing his military occupation and his apartheid regime.<\/p>\n

    In fact, after a UNESCO decision to admit Palestine as a member state in 2011, Israeli hasbra went into full swing with attacks on UNESCO, the UN and the international community as a whole. Then, the US gutlessly bowed to Israeli pressure and decided to cut off its funding of the organization. Yet somehow UNESCO carried on, as it will continue with its important work despite Israel\u2019s recent decision to suspend its membership in the organization.<\/p>\n

    Of course, we now expect even a greater Israeli push in Jerusalem to further challenge the international community\u2019s will. There will be more restrictions on Palestinians, and easier access to Jews, which will be accompanied by more military deployment and subsequent violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    (Posted by Dr. Vacy Vlazna on October 19, 2016 in Palestine\/Israel) \u2018While the resolution will unlikely alter the nature of the conflict fundamentally, it rejects \u2013 legally and morally \u2013 all Israeli efforts aimed at denying the rights of Muslims \u2013 and Christians \u2013 in their city, which they aspire to make their future capital,\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174,"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions\/174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fpsn.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}