Excavation near Al Aqsa angers Muslims, Arabs

[Al-khiyal]

JERUSALEM, September 23, 2007 -- A quarry that supplied blocks of stone for the construction of the second Jewish Temple has been uncovered in an area north of Jerusalem, an Israeli archaeologist said Sunday.

The "sensational" pit was unearthed some two months ago, during regular inspections ahead of construction work at a site some four kilometers (three miles) north of Temple Mount, Yuval Baruch of the country's antiquities authority told reporters.

The Temple Mount, constructed by King Herod, was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, and its only remaining vestige - the Western Wall - is considered Judaism's holiest site.

It is also where, today, stands the Al Aqsa mosque, the third-holiest site for Islam.

"We have uncovered the quarry where the blocks used for the construction of the Second Temple were extracted some 2,000 years ago," Baruch said.

The quarry is located in the Jewish ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967.

"We immediately understood the exceptional importance of this quarry and, from a historic point of view, this is a sensational discovery," he said.

The quarry's white rock, which resembles marble, and its huge, five-to-seven-tonne (5.5-to-7.7-ton) blocks "are unprecedented and similar to those of the Western Wall," he said.

Tools and coins from King Herod's time were also uncovered at the site.

Israeli archaeologists find Temple Mount quarry

[Bent_Bladi]

well too bad... Al Aqsa is there now and it's STAYING there

[Al-khiyal]

JERUSALEM, October 14, 2007 (AP) - Israel will resume archaeological excavations near a Jerusalem holy site that has often been a flashpoint for violence, Israeli officials said Sunday. The decision drew Palestinian charges that Israel is trying to scuttle next month's U.S.-sponsored peace conference.

Fearing an outbreak of violence, an Israeli Cabinet minister said he stalled construction for at least two weeks. But officials said they remained determined to push forward with the project.

The dig is located outside the Old City compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, and is home to the gold-capped Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque.

Israel captured the site from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War and it has since served as a symbol of the two sides' competing claims to Jerusalem. Day-to-day administration of the site remains in Muslim hands.

When the dig began in February, it caused an uproar in the Islamic world, with some Muslims alleging that Israel was plotting to undermine the foundations of the site's mosques.

Israel termed those charges ludicrous, saying the dig was meant to clear the way for construction of a pedestrian walkway up to the compound, replacing one damaged in a 2004 snowstorm. But digging work at the site was quietly halted in June without explanation.

The government's Committee on Jerusalem Affairs voted two weeks ago to resume archaeological work at the site, Jacob Edery, a Cabinet minister and committee member, told The Associated Press. Edery said the dig had been held up since early summer for bureaucratic reasons related to planning permits.

''I'm sorry the work was held up at all, because the walkway was supposed to be almost finished by now,'' Edery said. He said some aspects of the plan have been modified, but no major changes were made.

After Edery's announcement, Raleb Majadele, the only Arab Cabinet minister, filed an appeal to block the project, which will halt progress for two weeks.

''I want the excavations delayed because it is very bad timing under the present political conditions,'' he said, citing an upcoming U.S.-hosted peace conference next month and the current Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

But Roni Dahan, a spokesman for Edery, said ''the idea is definitely to continue excavations there.''

When work began, Palestinians charged that Israel did not have the right to make alterations around the holy site, which houses Islam's third-holiest shrine.

Palestinian officials were outraged by Israel's latest decision, saying it endangered the U.S.-sponsored peace conference scheduled to be held in Annapolis, Maryland, next month.

''Always, whenever there is an important move toward peace, they do something to enrage Palestinians,'' said Adnan Husseini, an adviser on Jerusalem affairs to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel to resume digging near disputed Jerusalem Old City holy site

[Bent_Bladi]

it's their grave that they're digging

[Al-khiyal]

Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque

December 24, 2007 -- A group of Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Monday backed up by Israeli police.

Al-Awqaf department in Ramallah said a group of settlers burst into the mosque's courtyard through Al-Magharba door carrying photos and maps.

The settlers carry out provocative acts on a daily basis by attempting to storm the mosque, a matter which Al-Awqaf department has warned of and stated that this act is within the Israeli plans to tear down the mosque.

Israel continues its digging operation under the mosques infrastructure to construct a tunnel and a Jewish Temple adjacent to the Mosque.

The Israeli police in Jerusalem prevents the Islamic Awqaf department from bringing in construction material to reconstruct the mosque and old buildings surrounding the mosque.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered expediting controversial excavations near Al-Maghariba Gate, one of Al-Aqsa Mosque's 14 gates, two days after the Annapolis peace conference, Israeli Haaretz daily revealed.

The government has instructed the Israel Antiquities Authorities (IAA) to complete the work "as soon as possible," allocating a total of INS17.5 million ($4 million) to complete the project.

Israeli bulldozers started in February demolishing the wooden bridge leading to Al-Maghariba Gate and two underground rooms, sparking widespread protests from Palestinians, Muslims and international archeological and cultural bodies.

Israel claims the works intend to strengthen an access ramp to the Al-Maghariba Gate, which was damaged during a snow storm two years ago.

But archeologists warn that leveling the mound upon which the wooden bridge is built would threaten the foundation of Al-Aqsa Mosque Islam's third holiest, and open the way for more Israeli excavations.

UNESCO has urged Israel to halt the excavations, insisting that the process should be supervised by a team of international experts.

A team of Turkish experts who had examined the excavations also recommended that Israel stop work immediately.

[Bent_Bladi]

there's no more to be said about this zulm... cursing won't help

I'm just confused about one thing... the mosque that's pictured in this thread is called "Qubat Al Sakhra" aka "Dome of the Rock"... and Al Aqsa is this one:



I know they're not the same... but which mosque are they digging under? this one or the dome of the rock? Or are they both in the same place, right next to each other? (sorry never been there )

[Al-khiyal]

Or are they both in the same place, right next to each other?

You can see their positions relative to one another here. The digging is being done close to Al-Aqsa.