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Palestinians Try to Save Gaza History 02/13 06:12
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Muneer Elbaz remembers the joy of visiting the
Great Omari Mosque in Gaza with his family, praying at a site where people have
worshipped over centuries as empires came and went.
"These were the best days," Elbaz said, as he recalled promenading through
the lively markets around the mosque before the Israel-Hamas war. "This place
transports us from one era to another."
Today, much of the mosque stands in ruins -- like most of Gaza -- after
being hit by Israeli strikes in the two-year war muffled by an uncertain
ceasefire. The sight of the rubble brings to mind "a tree that had been
uprooted from the land," said Elbaz, a Palestinian heritage consultant involved
with recovery work at the site.
Israel's military offensive killed over 72,000 Palestinians, according to
Gaza's Health Ministry, and erased entire extended families.
Gone too is some of the heritage of a land with a rich history going back to
ancient times. The mosque was built on a site where a Byzantine church had
stood, and changed hands and even religions as one invader followed another.
With major military operations halted, Palestinians are gaining a clearer
picture of the destruction. Some organizations are trying to save what they can
at historical sites, even as full-scale restoration -- and the broader
reconstruction of the territory -- face major obstacles.
Dozens of sites were damaged
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200
people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023,
attack. The military accuses Hamas of concealing military assets beneath or
near heritage sites, as well as other civilian structures.
The U.N. cultural agency, in an ongoing assessment based on satellite
images, says it has verified damage to at least 150 sites since the start of
the war. They include 14 religious sites, 115 buildings of historical or
artistic interest, nine monuments and eight archaeological sites.
They are fragments of Gaza's soul, connecting Palestinians to a place and a
history that many fear is at risk of being erased.
"These sites were an important element that solidifies the presence of the
Palestinian people on this land and that represents the continuity of their
cultural identity," said Issam Juha, co-director of the Centre for Cultural
Heritage Preservation, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
"They want to erase the Palestinian identity and Palestinian heritage and
... to remove any connection that keeps the Palestinian society clinging to
this land," he said.
The center is doing urgent rescue work at the badly damaged Pasha Palace,
which housed centuries-old artifacts, many of which appear to have been looted,
Juha said. Among the missing items are an Ottoman-era Quranic manuscript,
jewelry from the medieval Mamluk era and a Roman-era sarcophagus from which
only some fragments have been recovered, according to Hamouda al-Dohdar, an
expert working at the site.
The Israeli military said it struck "a Hamas military compound and an
anti-tank missile array" at the site. It said its forces struck a "terror
tunnel" at the Omari mosque. It did not provide evidence in either case.
Amir Abu al-Omrain, an official with Gaza's endowments ministry, part of the
Hamas-run government, denied the allegation about the mosque.
UNESCO does not have a mandate to assign responsibility for the damage it
assesses.
An independent commission established by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council
said it was not aware of any evidence of a tunnel shaft in the mosque. Noting
the Israeli allegations about the mosque, it said that even the presence of a
"legitimate military objective ... would not have justified the resulting
damage." Israel has previously accused the commission of bias.
The centuries-old Saint Porphyrius Orthodox church complex, which had been
sheltering displaced Palestinians, was also hit in an Israeli attack early in
the war, causing deaths and injuries. The military said it had targeted a
nearby Hamas command center. UNESCO said the church complex was moderately
damaged.
Some of Gaza's heritage sites appear to have been spared. UNESCO said it has
found no evidence of damage at the Saint Hilarion Monastery, dating to the 4th
century.
Under international law, cultural property should not be targeted or used
for military purposes.
The Israeli military says it takes the sensitivity of cultural and religious
sites into account, aims to minimize damage to civilian infrastructure and
adheres to international law.
A rich history
Artifacts and accounts stretching back thousands of years testify to Gaza's
long history of commerce and conflict. Egypt's pharaohs sent chariots through
the low-lying coastal strip in their wars with the Hittites in modern-day
Turkey. Traders in Gaza did brisk business with the ancient Greeks.
The Omari mosque, named for Islam's second caliph, was initially built in
the seventh century. Centuries later, the Crusaders converted it into a
cathedral, and it went back to being a mosque after they were expelled, said
Stephennie Mulder, associate professor of Islamic art at the University of
Texas at Austin.
The mosque was damaged during World War I, when the British shelled Gaza in
their campaign against the Ottoman Turks, and was later rebuilt.
"The building itself told the story of Gaza's past as a crossroads of trade,
armies, empires, and religious traditions," said Mulder. "For many Gazans, the
Omari mosque stood as a beloved symbol of multiplicity, resilience and
persistence."
More than stones
Mohammad Shareef, 62, remembers attending prayers at the mosque with his
father when he was a child, and studying for exams in its quiet confines. Years
later, he would bring his own children there. He wept when it was hit.
"We were raised in it and around it, and there's no stone here that we
haven't stepped on," he said. "For the people of Gaza, this is their history."
The loss will feel particularly acute during the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan, which begins later this month. Before the war, thousands converged on
the mosque for Ramadan prayers amid a festive atmosphere. This year, a large
tented structure has been erected.
In recent days, workers have been filling wheelbarrows in the shadow of a
damaged minaret.
Hosni Almazloum, an engineer working at the site, said the mosque's prayer
hall ceiling had collapsed and columns had crumbled. He said it could be
rebuilt, if construction supplies are allowed in. For now, teams have been
focused on recovery and preventing further damage, sifting through and storing
stones.
The U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement, which halted most of the fighting in
October, gives no timeline for Gaza's reconstruction, which may prove
impossible if Israel maintains the blockade it imposed on the territory when
Hamas seized power in 2007, after the militant group won Palestinian elections
in 2006.
Many historic sites suffered from neglect before the war. The blockade and
previous Israel-Hamas wars, along with a lack of resources and urban sprawl,
posed challenges. Hamas-run authorities have leveled parts of what
archaeologists believe was a Bronze Age settlement to make way for construction
projects.
Elbaz says that before the ceasefire, grief was a luxury he couldn't afford
-- his family was just trying to survive.
"What would you begin to cry over?" he asked. "The historic mosques or your
home or your history or your children's schools or the streets?"
Now, as he processes the war's toll, he sometimes weeps, away from the eyes
of his children.
"Gaza is our mother," he said. "We have memories everywhere -- in this tree,
this flower, this garden and this mosque. Yes, we cry over every part of Gaza."
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