Istanbul : Director General of the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) Dr. Halit Eren revealed that the Israeli violations in Jerusalem threaten more than 80 percent of the waqf property in Jerusalem’s Old City.

In his speech at the Open-Ended Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee at the level of Foreign Ministers on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque held in Istanbul on Tuesday, the IRCICA director general stated that Israel’s attempts to change the cultural identity of Jerusalem threaten, first and foremost, the Islamic holy sites in the city.

The head of the OIC cultural body said that there are about 120 excavation points underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque alone, dug since 2000. He added that tunnel construction works and excavations are underway beneath the western and southern walls of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Buraq Square, the Umayyad Palaces area and the Muslim Quarter – one of the four quarters of the ancient, walled Old City of Jerusalem.

Eren explained that IRCICA has prepared a comprehensive project on Jerusalem to preserve Al-Haram Al-Sharif and restore major historical landmarks through architectural projects, as well as improving and modernizing Muslim neighborhoods.

—AB/IINA