So 60 years digging, 15 years under the foundations, and the mosque still stands with the blessings of Allah. Cracks appear in such grands old building just from aging and settling, and need constant care and attention to keep in good repair.
The impact of the digging under Al Aqsa Mosque already led people to leave their homes:
Damaged homes, endangered people
Over the past few years, the digging has caused severe structural and foundational
damage to Palestinian homes, particularly in Silwan, experts say.
Silwan, a Palestinian community torn apart by Israel's dig to find 'lost city'
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In 2017, a group of 25 residents were
forced to leave their homes in the town due to such damage making the buildings unsafe to live in.
The tunnels have also started to constitute a major threat to the foundations of the Al Aqsa Mosque compound.
Most of the tunnels are concentrated below the western ramparts of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Western Wall - known to Muslims as the al-Buraq wall - and below the Umayyad palaces south of the mosque, extending to the centre of Silwan.
Researcher Najeh Bkairat told MEE that the tunnel network branches out and extends to the Al-Qarmi neighbourhood, west of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City, as well as to the east and north near Damascus Gate, along with southern branches reaching Silwan.
The consequences have been severe, Bkairat said, causing cracks in large buildings, and affecting the foundations of 16 Islamic monuments along the route.
According to the Silwan-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center, due to the recent excavations, the area of Ein al-Hilweh has suffered landslides, with ground in playgrounds, parking lots, and lands belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church collapsing. Damage to infrastructure has become more severe during the winter season at times of heavy rain.
Bkairat says that, overall, the structures most affected by the digging are in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, particularly the al-Marwani Prayer Hall, and cypress trees whose roots have been damaged.
Not only have excavations resulted in cracks and collapses in historic buildings west of Al-Aqsa, but a number of tombs have also been affected and have been sliding downwards, the researcher said.
Since the start of excavations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has
called on Israel to halt its digging, stressing the illegality of such actions in occupied territory.
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Israel, for its part, refuses to allow access to UNESCO to examine the holy sites in East Jerusalem.
