Jerusalem News Agency - Agencies

It is considered the highest area in Jerusalem, and from its roof it is possible to see all the city’s landmarks, including the Jerusalem Citadel, which is threatened by Judaization, which the visitor can enter through the Hebron Gate, which is part of it.

 The castle is located on the western side of the ancient city of Jerusalem, which was built and destroyed several times over the long ages that passed through it. The Romans built the Jerusalem Castle to fortify the city. The Roman Herod is considered the original founder of the castle to fortify the weakest point in the city. He added many expansions and military towers to it, until It became the center of city administration during the era of the Ottoman Empire.

Over the course of many centuries, up to the Ottoman era, the castle underwent a number of restorations, and the current construction dates back to the Ayyubid and Mamluk eras, and it was frequently subjected to collapse due to earthquakes and wars.

Inside the citadel is the Eastern Mosque, which dates back to the Ottoman period, and the Western Mosque, which dates back to the Mamluk period and was restored during the Ottoman Empire. Unfortunately, prayers are not held in them now.

The British also cared for the castle and restored it more than once. It was turned into a cultural and artistic center, which was rejected by the Supreme Islamic Council, which supervised it until 1926 AD. After the end of the British Mandate in Palestine, the Jerusalem Castle fell into the custody of the Jordanian Arab Army, which considered that the castle’s primary and strategic goal was to defend the Arab identity of Jerusalem and its identity. He restored its mosques to work.

According to Robin Abu Shamsieh, a researcher in Jerusalem affairs, in 1956 efforts and proposals began to begin carrying out repairs to the citadel, which were implemented by the Jordanian government, but the occupation of 1967 aborted all attempts, and the occupation began its extensive excavations under the Al-Aqsa area and the citadel area to begin promoting the idea of Judaization and the new narrative until it opened a museum. A special review of the castle in 1989 tells of its long history, but according to the Jewish narrative.

In the year 1956 AD, the commander of the Princess Alia Brigade sent a letter to the Endowments asking for reforms. However, these efforts were aborted following the aggression of 1967 AD, the occupation of the city of Jerusalem was one of its disastrous consequences for the nation. It provided a great opportunity to conduct extensive excavations that serve the idea of Judaization and falsifying the authentic Arab-Islamic history of the city. To achieve this; The occupation opened a museum there in April 1989.

The occupation called the citadel the Castle of David and one of its three minarets, which dates back to the Mamluk era, making the citadel a target for Judaization like other historical places in the city. The occupation changed the name of Burj Fasayil to the Tower of David, which could expose the falsehood of the Jewish narrative. The occupation turned the castle into a museum to display the occupation's false narratives about a new, misleading history.

Najeh Bakirat, a specialist in Jerusalem affairs, says that the citadel managed the affairs of Jerusalem and all the Ottoman endowments from offices located in the citadel, and all administrative and military affairs were based in the citadel.

The (Israeli) Antiquities Authority has allocated 40 million shekels to carry out a huge landmark change operation as a beginning to expand the Judaization plan to falsify history and tamper with the tower of the Bab al-Khalil Castle, one of the most important landmarks of the Old City in Jerusalem, as part of a Judaization project to change ancient Islamic landmarks. The Judaization project will be implemented at the initiative of the Clore Israel Foundation and with the support of the occupation municipality in Jerusalem and the (Israeli) government.

Since the occupation of Jerusalem, the occupation authorities have worked to connect the Jewish Quarter to the western part of the city by controlling the Hebron Gate, and launching a massive excavation campaign in the region to falsify Islamic history.