Several million shekels have been invested for a donor campaign in Jordan to renovate schools and homes of Palestinian residents of the Old City of Jerusalem, who live near the Temple Mount, President of the Jordanian Engineers Association, Majed Al Tabbaa said last week.
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Altogether, 338 Palestinian units were renovated in the Old City that house 1,698 residents. The information was published by the right-wing watchdog group Im Tirtzu and the Lach Yerushalayim ("For You, Jerusalem") advocacy group that seeks to safeguard Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.
Al Tabbaa said, "the campaign is Jordan's answer to the Balfour Declaration that allowed the Israeli occupation authorities to establish a national home on Palestinian land." He said the project did not only reflect the Engineers Association's stance, but that of the "entire Jordanian people," and represented the "residents' feelings towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque."
Media personality Iris Jarrar, who promoted the campaign on Jordanian radio, said "the residents of the Old City are the first line of defense of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
"Supporting the [Palestinian] families of the Old City brings us one step closer to praying in the mosque, so that soon we may broadcast from the Al Aqsa compound," she said. "Today we supported the [Palestinian] resident of Jerusalem in his opposition to the occupier."
Im Tirtzu and the Lach Yerushalayim opposed the move.
"In recent years, the State of Israel has been losing control over events in Jerusalem," they said in a joint statement. "A hostile nation whose aim is to hurt our sovereignty cannot get a say when it comes to the Israeli capital.
"Jordan is stepping up efforts in the city to undermine the legitimacy and the Jewish connection to the capital. The Israeli government must stop this meddling as soon as possible. We call on the foreign minister [Yair Lapid] and the defense minister [Benny Gantz] to stop the Jordanian invasion of Jerusalem."
Israel has cooperated with Jordan on the administration of the Al-Aqsa Compound for decades, especially ever since the two countries signed a peace agreement in 1994.
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