OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Informed sources revealed an Israeli scheme aimed to change the Arab landmarks of the occupied holy city of Jerusalem especially its main entrance extending from Bab Al-Amud Gate to Bab Al-Khalil.

The sources said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) intends to establish a public plaza in Omar Ibn Al-Khattab square in Bab Al-Khalil extending to Jaffa street and connecting the entire Old City with Jerusalem.

For its part, Reuters news agency reported that the IOA will close Bab Al-Amud for 30 months in order to allegedly renew the infrastructure there.

Reuters said that the Palestinians living in the Old City of Jerusalem are increasingly worried about the possibility to leave their homes when Bab Al-Amud is closed for two years.

Palestinian merchants in the area of Bab Al-Amud said that the closure would affect the commercial traffic and civilian movement around the area.

For his part, Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib, the deputy head of the Islamic Movement in the 1948 occupied lands, appealed to the Arab leaders to quickly address Israel’s opening of a large synagogue at the heart of the Aqsa Mosque in 10 days.

“We say to the Arabs that your positions are reticent regarding the support of Jerusalem city and the holy Aqsa Mosque and we send you an [urgent] message to invite you to take a great historical position,” Sheikh Khatib stressed. “We hope you will not let down the Aqsa Mosque.”

For his part, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, the head of the high Islamic authority and the former mufti of Palestine, told the Palestinian information center (PIC) on Tuesday that the support of Islamic holy sites especially the Aqsa Mosque is a religious duty imposed on every Muslim.

Sheikh Sabri said in his fatwa that it is forbidden in Islam to forsake the defense of the Islamic holy sites in Palestine or the Palestinians who make efforts to protect the Aqsa Mosque and other mosques against Judaization.

The fatwa he issued included religious texts from the holy Qur’an and the prophetic traditions that call on Muslims to necessarily support their bothers in time of need.