The Jerusalem Governorate has issued a stark warning that the Israeli occupation authorities’ ongoing excavation and tunneling works in and around Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Jerusalem are endangering the very foundations of the city’s historic and Islamic landmarks.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Governorate said the extensive digging operations are part of Israel’s systematic and long-term plan to Judaize occupied Jerusalem and erase its Arab, Islamic, and historical identity.

According to the statement, the occupation forces are digging tunnels beneath and around the Old City to connect various illegal colonial settlement outposts — a move that poses a grave threat to the infrastructure under Al-Aqsa Mosque and its surrounding areas.

“Under the deceptive pretext of ‘archaeological projects,’ the occupation seeks to weaken the historical fabric surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque and inflict irreversible damage to its foundations,” the Governorate warned.

Officials emphasized that the so-called excavations are designed to alter the identity of Jerusalem and destabilize one of Islam’s most sacred sites. They warned that cracks and structural damage have already begun appearing in several locations near the mosque, confirming fears that the tunnels are undermining the area’s stability.

“The so-called archaeological excavations are, in reality, attempts to destroy the ancient and Islamic character of Jerusalem, to weaken Al-Aqsa’s structure, and to impose a new, fabricated narrative,” the statement added.

Calling on the international community and UNESCO to urgently intervene, the Governorate urged immediate action to halt Israel’s illegal excavations, saying, “These works not only endanger Jerusalem’s architectural and cultural heritage but also threaten the sanctity and integrity of Al-Aqsa Mosque — the first Qibla and the third holiest site in Islam.”

The warning comes amid mounting reports from Palestinian and international observers documenting visible cracks, collapses, and ground subsidence in areas surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque due to continued tunneling and excavation activities by the Israeli occupation.

Palestinian authorities and local experts have long accused the occupation regime of using “archaeology” as a political tool to entrench colonial control over Jerusalem and to prepare for more aggressive incursions into the Al-Aqsa compound.

Despite repeated appeals from Palestinian institutions and UNESCO resolutions affirming Al-Aqsa’s Islamic heritage, Israel continues to carry out unauthorized excavations, deepening fears of an imminent structural disaster beneath one of the world’s most revered religious sites. (ILKHA)