Najah Bakhirat, president of Al-Aqsa Academy of Endowments and Heritage, claimed that "there is an Israeli plan with American support to empty the city of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Palestinian residents and turn it into a holy place for Jews."
Speaking to the Palestinian Arab news agency Safa, Bakhirat said that "Israel has crossed all the red lines in its repeated attacks against Al-Quds and the Al-Aqsa Mosque," and claimed that he had even heard a call by "extremist Jews to break into Al-Aqsa during Eid al-Adha."
He warned that "Israel wants to Judaize Jerusalem and remove its Arabs as part of the preparation for the rebuilding of their Temple."
Bakhirat claimed that the plan is related to the upcoming Knesset elections on September 17 and is intended to impose Jewish sovereignty on the region.
Palestinian Arabs continuously falsely claim that Israel is “Judaizing” Jerusalem, which they claim is their capital, in an attempt to erase the Muslim connection to the city.
The claim that Israel plans to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and replace it with a Holy Temple is common among Palestinian Arab officials. Israel has also been accused of using chemicals to erode the foundations of the mosque in order to cause it to collapse.