Israel Bans Academic Program Promoting Demolition of ‘Dome of the Rock’ Mosque

A general view shows part of Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A general view shows part of Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Israel Bans Academic Program Promoting Demolition of ‘Dome of the Rock’ Mosque

A general view shows part of Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A general view shows part of Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The Israeli Education Ministry decided to remove the “Student for the Temple Mount” group from the academic program in Jewish schools.

The group include activists who support the establishment of the "Third Temple" (the Jewish Temple) on the ruins of Omar Mosque (Dome of the Rock in Al Aqsa Mosque)

The decision followed leaked information that the group is setting up a topic called "Knowing the Importance of the Temple Mount," which speaks of the Aqsa as the Temple Mount

The topic points out that the Dome of the Rock Mosque replaced the Jewish temple and must be rebuilt in its original place, which means an explicit call to demolish the mosque.

According to Israel’s Channel 10 TV report, the program is made by the far right-wing movement "Im Tirtzu.”

The report said that this movement is broadcasting to school students the controversial agenda of the Temple Mount and its activists.

The group is linked to the banned Kahane gang, which calls for the expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from their homeland and the cleansing of Israel of non-Jews.

Many organizations were established from this group, and they have carried out practical activities to spread despair among Palestinians to leave and carried out terror operations, during which Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem were burnt.

They also published maps of the Temple Mount, removing the Dome of the Rock’s picture from them and replacing it with the Jewish Temple.

In addition to that, a cannon was also seized on the roof of a house in Jerusalem, and its nozzle was pointed towards the Aqsa Mosque.

This group was banned from the Israeli law because of the seriousness of its racist rhetoric, but its activists knew how to continue their activity and promote their ideas in other contexts.



Diplomats Dismiss to Asharq Al-Awsat Claims about UNIFIL Withdrawal from Lebanon

Peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ride in armored vehicles during a patrol along the border with Israel by the village of Kfar Kila in south Lebanon on June 4, 2025. (AFP)
Peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ride in armored vehicles during a patrol along the border with Israel by the village of Kfar Kila in south Lebanon on June 4, 2025. (AFP)
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Diplomats Dismiss to Asharq Al-Awsat Claims about UNIFIL Withdrawal from Lebanon

Peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ride in armored vehicles during a patrol along the border with Israel by the village of Kfar Kila in south Lebanon on June 4, 2025. (AFP)
Peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ride in armored vehicles during a patrol along the border with Israel by the village of Kfar Kila in south Lebanon on June 4, 2025. (AFP)

Western and United Nations diplomats dismissed as rumors claims that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was pulling out of the country.

The Lebanese government is expected to request the extension of the peacekeeping forces’ mandate that expires in August.

A US State Department spokesperson told Asharq Al-Awsat that the reports about the withdrawal are “inaccurate”. He did not elaborate further.

UNIFIL has been deployed in southern Lebanon since March 1978. Some amendments to its mandate were introduced after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and again after the July 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Debate rages every year over its duties as the deadline for renewing its mission approaches. Some countries have sought to grant the force more powers, which would put it at odds with Hezbollah that holds sway in the areas of its deployment.

Hezbollah was severely weakened after last year’s war with Israel and the ensuing ceasefire agreement had demanded that the Iran-backed party remove its weapons from the South.

UNIFIL forces are deployed south of the Litani River and along the border with Israel. It boasts over 10,000 soldiers from some 50 countries, as well as 800 civilian employees.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told Asharq Al-Awsat that the forces’ greatest challenge is the lack of a long-term political solution between Lebanon and Israel.

UNIFIL continues to encourage the parties to renew their commitment to fully implementing UN Security Council resolution 1701 and taking tangible steps to address pending issues related to it, including steps that would lead to a permanent ceasefire, he added.

It is too soon to tell what UNIFIL’s mandate will be like after next August, he went on to say, stressing that changing its mission is up to the Security Council.

Israeli media had reported that the United States wanted to end UNIFIL’s mission. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, a diplomat dismissed the report as “usual fearmongering aimed at influencing Lebanon and other parties interested in extending UNIFIL’s mandate and its role in preserving stability in the South and along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel.”

The Security Council is currently awaiting Lebanon’s request to extend the mandate for another year, said western diplomats. The letter will include Lebanon’s clear demand for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all occupied Lebanese territories, including the five hilltops it seized during last year’s war.

The ceasefire agreement demanded that Israel pull out from those areas within 60 days.

Lebanon has been seeking to resolve this issue through the quintet committee tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and through intense contacts with the US.

US officials are considering pulling American support from UNIFIL in a bid to cut costs associated with its operations, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported Sunday evening. US sources later confirmed to The Times of Israel that the option was on the table.