U.S. Envoy Poses With Poster of Obliterated Al-Aqsa
AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – U.S. envoy to Occupied Palestine David Friedman has posed next to a poster of Jerusalem Al-Quds' skyline with a computer-generated rendition of the Third Jewish Temple placed over Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site.
Washington's embassy in Occupied Palestine, which moved from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem Al-Quds last week, claimed that Friedman was not aware of the details of the poster when he was photographed.
"The U.S. policy is absolutely clear: we support the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount," the embassy said in a statement.
The photo was taken during a visit by Friedman to the Zionist city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv.
Right-wing Zionist activists have long called for destroying Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock to make space for the Third Jewish Temple.
Oren Hazan, a suspended Knesset member from PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, has pledged to demolish Al-Aqsa.
"It would not be responsible at this point in time to tell you how we would do it (destroying Al-Aqsa), but I will say it clear and loud, when I have the opportunity to do it, I will,” he was quoted as saying by Mondoweiss in 2016.
Friedman, a former lawyer for the Trump Organization, supports the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. He has repeatedly made provocative statements in favor of Israel, once even comparing liberal Jewish American group, J Street, to Nazi collaborators.
In a column published by Fox News on Sunday, Friedman accused U.S. "liberal media" of siding with Hamas to undermine the "beautiful and uplifting event" of moving the embassy to occupied Al-Quds.
The move was condemned internationally and rejected overwhelmingly by the UN General Assembly for violating the status of Jerusalem Al-Quds.
Commenting on the massacre of dozens of unarmed Palestinian protesters, including children and medics, who were shot by Zionist forces in Gaza, Friedman said Hamas is solely to blame.
"They were neither heroes nor the peaceful protesters they were advertised to be," he said.
On Sunday, an Israeli intelligence website revealed that Trump had proposed to establish a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty over around half of the West Bank and Abu Dis as its capital.
The plan, due to be revealed next month, is reportedly intended to serve as a springboard for more negotiations between Israel and Arab governments, DEBKAfile reported.
Five administration officials told U.S. media that Trump was preparing to reveal the "peace" plan after the end of the holy month of Ramadan in mid-June.
Trump, it said, had discussed the text with three Arab leaders, namely Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, UAE emir Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed, Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh el-Sisi.
The Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem al-Quds will be part of the Palestinian state, "excepting the Old City, which will be part of Israeli Jerusalem,” DEBKAfile said.
Washington's embassy in Occupied Palestine, which moved from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem Al-Quds last week, claimed that Friedman was not aware of the details of the poster when he was photographed.
"The U.S. policy is absolutely clear: we support the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount," the embassy said in a statement.
The photo was taken during a visit by Friedman to the Zionist city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv.
Right-wing Zionist activists have long called for destroying Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock to make space for the Third Jewish Temple.
Oren Hazan, a suspended Knesset member from PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, has pledged to demolish Al-Aqsa.
"It would not be responsible at this point in time to tell you how we would do it (destroying Al-Aqsa), but I will say it clear and loud, when I have the opportunity to do it, I will,” he was quoted as saying by Mondoweiss in 2016.
Friedman, a former lawyer for the Trump Organization, supports the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. He has repeatedly made provocative statements in favor of Israel, once even comparing liberal Jewish American group, J Street, to Nazi collaborators.
In a column published by Fox News on Sunday, Friedman accused U.S. "liberal media" of siding with Hamas to undermine the "beautiful and uplifting event" of moving the embassy to occupied Al-Quds.
The move was condemned internationally and rejected overwhelmingly by the UN General Assembly for violating the status of Jerusalem Al-Quds.
Commenting on the massacre of dozens of unarmed Palestinian protesters, including children and medics, who were shot by Zionist forces in Gaza, Friedman said Hamas is solely to blame.
"They were neither heroes nor the peaceful protesters they were advertised to be," he said.
On Sunday, an Israeli intelligence website revealed that Trump had proposed to establish a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty over around half of the West Bank and Abu Dis as its capital.
The plan, due to be revealed next month, is reportedly intended to serve as a springboard for more negotiations between Israel and Arab governments, DEBKAfile reported.
Five administration officials told U.S. media that Trump was preparing to reveal the "peace" plan after the end of the holy month of Ramadan in mid-June.
Trump, it said, had discussed the text with three Arab leaders, namely Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, UAE emir Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed, Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh el-Sisi.
The Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem al-Quds will be part of the Palestinian state, "excepting the Old City, which will be part of Israeli Jerusalem,” DEBKAfile said.