The Al-Aqsa Mosque. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Excavations being carried out by Israel on the courtyard and under the foundations  of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem threaten the mosque with collapse, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told a Saudi Arabian newspaper on Sunday.

Anonymous pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon spotted the article in which Abbas told Al Watan of the “imminent danger faced by the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

According to Elder of Ziyon, “Abbas bitterly complained about the ‘fanatic Jewish extremists’ being allowed to enter the Temple Mount ‘to practice their religion,’ explaining that it is all part of ‘an evil and dangerous scheme to destroy [Al Aqsa] and establish the alleged Temple.'”

The same claims have been made for years by many in the Muslim world. The Western Wall Heritage Fund, which is supervising the digs, has repeatedly rebuffed the unsubstantiated allegations.