Restoration projects completed at Al Haram Al Sharif

AMMAN — The Jerusalem Awqaf Department and the Jerusalem Awqaf Council on Thursday announced the completion of "two historic projects" as part of the Hashemite restoration for Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The first project involved the restoration of the mosaic in the Dome of the Rock, implemented over a period of eight years since 2008 and until June this year, and the second project was the restoration of the mosaic at the Qibli (southern) Mosque of Al Aqsa, the implementation of which began at the start of 2014 and ended in October.

A delegation headed by Raef Najem, a member of the  Hashemite Fund for the Restoration of Al Aqsa Mosque and a former awqaf minister, visited Jerusalem for the official ceremony to mark the projects' completion.

During the ceremony, Najem said Al Aqsa currently faces "the worst forms of injustice” and attempts by the Israeli occupation authorities to block the restoration process, and alter its features and identity. 

Participants in the ceremony highlighted the importance of the projects and the efforts of His Majesty King Abdullah to preserve sanctuaries in Jerusalem and support the steadfastness of Muslims and Christians in the holy city.