The Palestinian Authority said on Monday that a plan to create a new area by the Western Wall, where worshippers of all Jewish denominations will be allowed to hold mixed prayer services for women and men, violates the status quo on the Temple Mount.
Palestinian Waqf and Religious Affairs Minister Sheikh Yousef Adeis warned on Monday that the Palestinians see the plan as part of an ongoing Israeli attempt to undermine Al-Aqsa Mosque and to "Judaize" Jerusalem's Old City.
According to Adeis, the entire Al-Aqsa complex, including its walls and gates, is holy to Islam, and the Western Wall is considered part of its walls.
In addition, Adeis claims, the prayer area at the Western Wall was built on a Palestinian neighborhood which was uprooted by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War, and therefore any Israeli construction in the area is seen by the Palestinians as part of the same Israeli aggression.
