Al-Aqsa mosque fire

[1] The event has been described as "an act which plunged the Middle East into its worst crisis since the June, 1967, Arab-Israel war",[2] and was a key catalyst for the creation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Initially, Israelis blamed the fire either on an accident related to ongoing renovations, or to a false flag attack by Palestinian group Fatah.

[5] The Israeli report on the event stated that on 21 August 1969, at approximately 6 am, Rohan entered the gate of Bani Ghanim with two containers and a water bottle filled with benzene and kerosene hidden in a haversack.

Zerah Warhaftig, the Religious Affairs Minister, who favored preserving the "status quo", fearing that permission to Jews to pray on the Mount would inflame the Arab world, spoke to the two rabbis about the political dangers.

[17]On 28 August 1969 a complaint was submitted to the United Nations Security Council by twenty-five Muslim countries in response to the Al Aqsa arson attempt.

Speaking to the council, Mohammad El-Farra of Jordan stated: Today, my delegation joins the 24 other members, representing 750 million adherents of the Moslem faith, which requested a meeting to consider another, more serious tragedy, namely of Al Aqsa Mosque, and the fire which severely damaged that historic Holy Place on the morning of 21 August 1969. ...

The report published in The Jerusalem Post ... casts doubt on the case and adds to the fears and worries of the Moslems about their holy shrines; it also throws light on who is the criminal and who is the accomplice.

[19] Yassir Arafat later developed a regular television interview speech in which he would refer back to this act of attempted arson, while avoiding mention of Rohan by name.