Following are excerpts from an interview with Hamas MP Ahmad Abu Halabiya, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on December 5, 2007.
Interviewer: Some geologists and environmental scientists say that the earthquakes that recently struck Jerusalem and the Dead Sea are artificial earthquakes, caused by the occupation forces, in an effort to destroy the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. Is there any evidence of this?
Ahmad Abu Halabiya: The truth is that some of these earthquakes may be artificial, while others are natural. What is dangerous is the excavations underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque and the network of tunnels that was built. These have begun to threaten the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Therefore, any earthquake – whether natural of artificial – measuring more than 5.5 or 6 on the Richter Scale will definitely have an impact, unless Allah decrees otherwise. This will have an impact on the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is where the danger lies, whether the earthquake is artificial or natural. In any case, it is not impossible for the Jews to generate an artificial earthquake one way or another, in order to accomplish their goal of destroying the foundations of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as a step towards the construction of their false temple, God forbid.