Aqsa Mosque this year is observed under serious repercussions and critical conditions after Israel turned down the peace process into a process of war against the Palestinian people, using military force to besiege and isolate as well as keep hostage Palestinians inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip. And today, the arrest of innocent people and house demolitions; curfews and incursions by tanks, helicopters and re-occupation of areas vacated by the occupation forces as well as the civilian casualties and those of the innocent children and elderly people, have become a pattern and routine for the life of the Palestinian people. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia being the land of divine revelation, the cradle of Islam and blessed and honored to serve the Two Holy Mosques of Makkah and Madinah, has been in the forefront of countries which denounced the burning of the Al Aqsa Mosque. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz continue its firm stances towards the Palestinian cause and Palestinian people and also towards Islamic sites in Al-Quds city at all levels. The Kingdom urged all Arab citizens to hold firm sovereignty of their lands and sacred places and reiterated that it always stands beside them and is determined in easing the burden of arbitrary actions perpetrated by the Israeli authorities against them. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has engaged in intense diplomatic efforts at various levels in support of the cause of Al-Quds city (Jerusalem) and cooperated in this respect with the Islamic states until a UN Security Council Resolution No. 478 was adopted in 1980 which called on all States that have established diplomatic missions in Jerusalem for the immediate withdrawal. "This resolution has been unanimously considered as a victory for the Islamic diplomacy and frustrated the Zionist scheme against the occupied city of Al-Quds." In the continued support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Palestinian cause, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, proposed in the Arab Conference held in Cairo in October 2000 to set up a fund under the name of the Al-Quds Intifada with a capital of $200 million allocated for the maintenance of the families of the Palestinian martyrs who were killed in the uprising (Intifada). Moreover, the King also proposed the establishment of a fund under the name of Aqsa Fund with an allocation of $800 to finance projects designed to preserve the Arab and Islamic identity of Al-Quds city. The Saudi Monarch endorsed the contribution of Saudi Arabia, which amounted to a quarter of the amount allocated for these two funds. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also guaranteed to support 1000 of Palestinian families of the martyrs and wounded as a result of Al-Aqsa Intifada. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reiterated this trend of support for the Palestinian people and their just cause in the Arab Conference held in Beirut. From this standpoint, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, presented a visualization for just and comprehensive settlement in the Middle East which was known as the Arab peace project that was adopted and endorsed by the Arab Summit held in Beirut on 27/03/2002. The Riyadh summit held last March showed the adherences of all Arab countries to the Arab peace initiative adopted at the Beirut summit in 2002. --MORE
