At the close of their emergency meeting held today at ISESCO headquarters, archaeology experts called for the establishment of a fact-finding committee to visit the Islamic civilizational landmarks in Al Quds Al Sharif, to identify sites in danger and to explore the ways to protect them. The committee is expected to work in collaboration with the Palestinian official authorities, to investigate into the Israeli ongoing excavations and aggressions against al-Aqsa Mosque, to present a report on that regard to ISESCO Director General, who will, in turn, refer it to the upcoming session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.

The experts condemned the Israeli practices in Al Quds Al Sharif and digging operations in the precincts of Al Aqsa Mosque as being a despicable affront to international law and a factual source of threat to the architecture of the Mosque.

They demanded that the Israeli occupation authorities should immediately stop the excavations in the Maghariba Gate at Al Aqsa Mosque, the building of a synagogue near the Aqsa Mosque, the construction of the racist separation Wall, and the setting up of the Jewish museum on the Islamic Ma'man Allah Cemetery, for these projects constitute a plain violation of the international law, particularly the provisions of the Hague Convention of 1954 and the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

They equally called for devising construction plans and architectural studies to address any hazardous condition affecting Al Aqsa Mosque. In addition, they appealed to the Security Council and the Quartet to intervene and take urgent measures with a view to protecting Al Aqsa Mosque, and to compel Israel to implement the resolutions of the international legitimacy on Al Quds, including in particular resolutions 253, 267, 271, 465, 476, 478, 6725, 1073, and General Assembly resolution 223/51.

By the same token, archaeology experts called upon ISESCO to adopt the project of providing an international guarantee to protect Al Aqsa Mosque against the Israeli attacks, through preparing a documented file on the aggressions of the Israeli occupation authorities against the Aqsa Mosque, to be referred to the international judiciary bodies in order to provide the guarantee of international protection.

Moreover, they called upon UNESCO to implement the decision adopted by the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee (Vilnius, Lithuania/ 8-16 July 2006), which was endorsed by all Member States of UNESCO, and which stipulates "the Israeli authorities shall provide the World heritage centre with all relevant information concerning the construction of new buildings (?) and reconstruction of the access leading to the al-Haram ash-Sharîf."

The current emergency meeting lies within ISESCO?s efforts in the field of the protection of Islamic archaeological monuments and civilizational heritage in the Member States. It comes in a time witnessing an escalating wave of Israeli aggressions attempting to destroy, judaise, pillage or spoil the Palestinian old-age heritage. The meeting comes also as part of the application of the directives by Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, the Director General of ISESCO, aiming to mobilize the Arab, Islamic and international opinion to promptly intervene to stop the excavations undertaken by the Israeli authorities in the vicinity of Al-aqsa Mosque.