Hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip participated on Saturday, August 20, in a festival marking the 53rd anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Mosque fire, in the occupied city of Jerusalem.
The festival, called “The Tale of 1000 Martyrs”, was held in Gaza City and was organized by various Palestinian political groups.
It included an operetta, with revolutionary songs and a short play recounting the story of the Palestinian Resistance.
On August 21, 1969, Australian national Michael Dennis Rohan carried out a politically-motivated, arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque, within Jerusalem’s Haram Al-Sharif compound.
At the time, Jordanian Ambassador to the UN, Mohamed El-Farra, stated in a complaint to the UN Security Council: “According to news that originated from Israeli sources, the Australian suspect is a friend of Israel who was brought by the Jewish Agency to work for Israel.”
El-Farra added:
“The Jewish Agency arranged for the Australian to work in a Kibbutz for some months so that he could learn the Hebrew language and acquire more of the Zionist teaching… the life of this Australian in the Kibbutz and his dreams of building Solomon’s temple casts doubt on the case and adds to the fears and worries of the Muslims about their holy shrines; it also throws light on who is the criminal and who is the accomplice.”
(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
