A possible destruction of the Al-Aksa Mosque by Jewish extremists will have "lethal" repercussions for the Jewish State, Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned Wednesday.
Speaking on the Beirut-based al-Manar television, the mouthpiece for the extremist Shiite group, Nasrallah warned: "God forbid, should the Holy Al-Aksa be destroyed this will mean the destruction of the Jewish entity [Israel]."
On Tuesday, in a controversial move, Jerusalem police closed the Temple Mount off to non-Muslim visitors, as the nation marked Tisha Be'av and the destruction of the ancient Jewish temples at the site.
The last-minute decision to close the holy site, which was made by Jerusalem police chief Ilan Franco "out of concern for public safety," came just three days after Internal Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi warned that Jewish extremists could carry out a terror attack either against Arabs at the ancient compound, or at the al-Aksa mosque, in order to torpedo Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's planned unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
In December of last year, Shin Bet head Avi Dichter warned of the potential danger from Jewish terrorists. Likely to intensify should Israel start uprooting settlements, Dichter said their dream to remove the 'abomination' - the mosques - from the Temple Mount should trouble us greatly.
"For the State of Israel and the Jewish people in the Diaspora, Jewish terrorism is liable to create a substantial strategic threat and to turn the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians into a confrontation between 13 million Jews and 1 billion Muslims across the world," he said.
SOURCE: Jerusalem Post