52nd anniversary of Al Aqsa arson attack highlights Israeli violations

AMMAN — Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs Secretary General Abdullah Kanaan on Saturday stressed that the 52nd anniversary of the first attempt to burn Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem brings attention to the series of Israeli attacks in Jerusalem and Palestine.

Michael Dennis Rohan, a tourist from Australia and a member of the “Church of God”, set fire to the mosque on August 21, 1969 in an attempt “to hasten the coming of the Messiah”.

Kanaan told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the incident shows that the mosque, with its entire area of 144 dunums, has always been the main target of Zionists and more than 80 groups of the alleged temple, where these organisations seek to demolish the mosque and build their alleged temple.