Excavation near Al Aqsa angers Muslims, Arabs

[Al-khiyal]

Cashing on deafening world silence, Israeli bulldozers started Tuesday, February 6, demolishing a wooden bridge leading to the Al-Maghariba Gate of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and two underground rooms, amid growing fears excavations would threaten the foundations of the Islam's third holiest site.

"A number of Israeli bulldozers accompanied by a throng of Israeli policemen and border guards have started the demolition works," Head of the Islamic Movement Sheikh Raed Salah told IslamOnline.net.

The wooden bridge leads all the way to the Al-Maghariba Gate, one of the fourteen gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to Palestinian archeologists, leveling the mound uppon which the wooden bridge is built would threaten the foundation of Al-Aqsa Mosque and would open the way for more Israeli excavations.

Raef Youssef Nijm, the former Jordanian waqfs minister and the head of Al-Aqsa Reconstruction Committee, said the new Israeli excavations are aimed at discovering what Jews believe a gate to their alleged temple.

Israeli authorities claim the works intend to strengthen an access ramp to the Al-Maghariba Gate, which was damaged during a snow storm two years ago, in coordination with the Palestinian Waqfs Ministry and UNESCO.

Palestinian officials, however, denied any kind of coordination.

On Sunday, February 4, Israel imposed restrictions on access to the mosque compound for fear of demonstrations against the planned digging.

The compound, known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the Muslims’ first Qiblah [direction Muslims take during prayers] and its the third holiest shrine after Al Ka'bah in Makkah and Prophet Muhammad's Mosque in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

Its significance has been reinforced by the incident of Al Isra'a and Al Mi'raj - the night journey from Makkah to Al-Quds and the ascent to the Heavens by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him).

This represents the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict as Jews claim that their alleged Haykal (Temple of Solomon) exists underneath Al-Haram Al-Sharif.

In an attempt to confront Israeli schemes threatening the mosque, the Waqfs Ministry released some one million copies of an electronic guide about the mosque and its compound.

Artifacts

Mohammad Hussein, Al-Quds Mufti, said the mound to be demolished contains Islamic artifacts.

"These excavations would affect the foundations of the Al-Aqsa and open the way for the Dome of the Rock mosque," he warned in statements to Al-Jazeera.

In an appeal through Al-Jazeera, Palestinian Chief Judge Sheikh Tayssir Al-Tamami urged Palestinians Tuesday to rush to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound to defend it.

Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, has also condemned Israeli excavations, warning that Tel Aviv was "playing with fire".

"Sharon's desecration of the Aqsa sparked the 2000 Intifada. The Israeli leadership must learn from this lesson. We have confidence in our people, its masses, all of its groups and military wings," he said.

An Intifada broke out in September 2000 after a provocative visit by then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon to the mosque compound.

The Aqsa Mosque has been a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian fighting in the past.

In the aftermath of the 1967 war, Israeli authorities reduced to rubble historical sites and corners near Al-Maghariba gate and erased Al-Maghariba alley from Al-Quds map.

On August 21, 1969, the mosque was set ablaze, gutting its southern wing - some 1,500 square meters out of a total of 4,400 - and destroyed the historical pulpit established by Muslim hero Salahudin Al-Ayyubi.

Palestinians have repeatedly warned that ultra-orthodox Jewish groups were planning to dynamite the mosque.

Israel digging threatens Aqsa

[Al-khiyal]

Jerusalem • Muslim and Arab leaders urged Palestinians yesterday to rush to the flashpoint Al Aqsa mosque compound to protest Israeli works they claim threaten the site’s foundations. The Waqf religious trust said work by the Israel Antiquities Authority under heavy police protection endangers the foundations of the mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam.

Israeli police stationed reinforcements in the alleyways of Jerusalem’s walled Old City to head off feared Palestinian violence at a site at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Fatah faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that any damage to the mosque would release Palestinian militant groups from a ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip they declared last November. Hamas said “any assault” on the mosque “will lead to a termination of the limited ceasefire” with Israel and would spark “a volcano of anger”.

Israel’s Antiquities Authority said it was searching for artefacts at the base of the compound known to Muslims as Al Haram Al Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount before construction of a pedestrian bridge to replace a ramp leading up to the complex.

The news drew international condemnation, including from Jordan’s King Abdullah II, whose country has a formal role in maintaining Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. He said the work could derail the revival of Arab-Israeli peace talks.

Tayssir Al Tamimi, head of religious courts in the Palestinian territories, said on Al Jazeera television that “the occupation bulldozers are headed (to the mosques) to destroy the historic route from Dung Gate”. He urged Palestinians to go immediately to the compound to protect the site from the Israeli works. Jerusalem’s mufti, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, also denounced the “aggression.”

In Cairo, the Arab League voiced its “extreme concern and ire” over excavations, and the supreme leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood called on “all Arabs, Muslims ... to express their anger and reject this Zionist crime.”

Israel’s opening of an entrance to an archaeological tunnel near Al Haram Al Sharif in 1996 triggered Palestinian protests and led to clashes in which 61 Arabs and 15 Israeli soldiers were killed.

Two bulldozers began breaking up parts of the pavement at the foot of the ramp, damaged by a snowstorm and an earthquake in 2004, to clear the way for what the authority called a “salvage excavation”. After an all-clear from the authority that no artefacts remain, plans can be finalised for the 100 metre pedestrian bridge to the Mughrabi Gate entrance to Al Haram Al Sharif, which overlooks the Western Wall.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah of Hamas said before leaving for unity talks with Fatah in Makkah that Israel was out to cause “direct harm” to Al Aqsa. “I appeal to all our Palestinian people to be united and to rise up together to protect Al Aqsa and the holy sites on the blessed land of Palestine,” Haniyah said.

Jordan’s King Abdullah was quoted by state news agency Petra as saying: “What Israel is doing in its practices and attacks against our sacred Muslim sites in Jerusalem and Al Aqsa is a blatant violation that is not acceptable under any pretext.”

Israel said the excavation work, some 50 metres from the existing ramp, would do no damage to Al Aqsa mosque. “The activities being carried out do not harm ... and will not harm any of the holy places,” Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said.

Israeli police arrested 11 people during protests in Jerusalem but said there were no major confrontations. In Bethlehem, crowds of Palestinians threw stones at Israeli soldiers outside Rachel’s Tomb, a holy site at the entrance to the West Bank city. The soldiers responded with tear gas. Hamas supporters held a rally in Gaza against the dig.

Excavation near Al Aqsa angers Muslims, Arabs

[Al-khiyal]

DAMASCUS-(SANA)-Syria on Tuesday expressed deep concern over what is going on in the surrounding of the holy mosque of al-Aqsa including digging acts that threaten the safety and sanctity of the mosque, an official source at the Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday.

"Syria, which strongly condemns this aggression, sees those acts as a flagrant violation of the Islamic sanctities and Muslims' feelings all over the Islamic world," the source added.

"Syria stresses that respecting the others' sanctities is the most prominent feature of civilized societies or those who claim that… and this is what Israeli authorities, which do the condemned digging acts, lack," it noted.

The source said that Israel, as an occupying authority, must protect the holy places according to the international law and Geneva Convention.

"Syria calls on the Organization of Islamic Conference to move, on behalf of the Islamic world to stop any act that threatens the safety and sanctity of the holy mosque of Aqsa," it added.

The source noted that Syria also appeals to all international organizations and commissions to express their stance in condemning and halting the Israeli aggressions, holding Israel responsible for the dangerous repercussions of those acts.

Syria expresses deep concern over Israeli acts around al-Aqsa

[Al-khiyal]

Sean McCormack, Spokesman, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC; question taken at the February 6, 2007 daily press briefing:

Question: Any comment on the Israeli excavation at the Haram al-Sharif near Al Aqsa Mosque that has raised protests from Jordan and elsewhere?

Answer: We are aware of these reports, and understand the excavations are related to the construction of a new walkway from the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem to the site of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif.

We are seeking clarification from the Government of Israel. As always, we urge all parties to exercise great care when deciding whether and how to engage in any activity near sensitive religious sites.

[eyad]

salam people,,
this is a hard time we are the Muslims having, actually that is a very difficult situation, that the Excavation near Al Aqsa is properly 24/7 is there is no real action from the Muslim Leaders to stop this jews distruction for the wooden bridge which leads all the way to the Al-Maghariba Gate !!
the Tv's are showing the event for millions of people, Muslims, Christians and Jews.. the people should express their anger, and to be one hand against the crisis on the hloy lands and the religious icons.

cont..

[Al-khiyal]

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Old City of Jerusalem's Dung Gate on Thursday to protest against the construction of a new bridge to the Temple Mount. The protest has thus far remained peaceful.

Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement's Northern Branch, has arrived at the scene, but is keeping his distance due to a court order prohibiting from coming within 150 meters of the Old City for the next 10 days.

On Wednesday police detained Salah and six of his supporters after they came to the Old City's Dung Gate and tried to break into the excavation site near the Mugrabi Gate. A violent confrontation developed.

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court subsequently issued the order barring him and his supporters from the area.

The Prime Minister's Office said Wednesday that the work on the new bridge to the Temple Mount would not harm holy sites, in response to a written request by Defense Minister Amir Peretz that the work be halted immediately.

"As to the matter at hand," the statement said, "the restoration of the Mugrabi ascent after the place collapsed and was declared a dangerous structure was done in complete coordination with all parties, including foreign countries, relevant Muslim officials and international bodies. As has been explained, this work is being carried on outside the Temple Mount, and they [the repairs] do not constitute any damage to the Mount or Islamic holy places."

"The work is being carried out by professionals and with complete transparency, entirely for the safety of visitors to the Mount," the statement continued. "A thorough examination of the matter would reveal that nothing about the work underway will harm anyone, and there is no truth in the contentions against the work."

In response to media reports on Peretz's letter, the Prime Minister's Bureau said: "The letter from the defense minister was received a few minutes before your paper approached us, and we are surprised at the fact that the letter found its way to the media so quickly. The Prime Minister's Office certainly does not see itself free to share correspondence on sensitive matters with the media."

Peretz attached to his request an opinion written by General (res.) Amos Gilad, head of the political-military bureau at the Defense Ministry. Gilad said in his letter the construction was causing considerable damage and would create foment in the Arab world, particularly at the present time, with Israel trying to initiate steps to calm things down with the Palestinians and the Arab world.

Gilad noted that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh were close to an agreement in Mecca on a unity government, and that an Olmert-Abbas summit is to take place in about two weeks. He also mentioned the planned visit to the region of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Gilad also expressed concern that the project had not been coordinated with Jordan.

Peretz reportedly learned late in the day about the decision to begin work at the site. Apparently the move was not thoroughly coordinated with him.

On Wednesday, Olmert's military secretary, Major General Gad Shamni, and Peretz's military secretary, Brigadier General Eitan Dangot, discussed the project and Peretz's objections.

The Jerusalem police and other security officials preferred that a new bridge to the Mugrabi gate not be built, but rather that the existing walkway be restored, Haaretz has learned. The police were concerned that Muslim elements in Israel and abroad would use the work at the site to stir up accusations against Israel. Only when the ostensible complexities came to light of the engineering work to restore the ramp, which had been declared a dangerous structure, and only when the Israel Antiquities Authority made clear that even rehabilitation of the old structure would entail the construction of numerous concrete supports and would also require a salvage dig, did the authorities come to terms with and agree to the need for a new bridge.

The decision-making process went on for over a year.

Haaretz also learned that the Waqf (the Muslim religious trust), which so far has not been involved in the public disturbances over the new bridge, has been fully briefed by the police on the plan now underway, although not at the level of coordination or obtaining consent.

The Waqf, as opposed to the branches of the Islamic Movement, has made do meanwhile with verbal protests against the work. An official involved in contacts said Israel is not confirming that the plans were presented to the Waqf so as not to cut off a channel of communication between the police and the Waqf that has been open for years.

Protests in the Arab world continued Wednesday against work on the bridge, which is to lead to the Mugrabi Gate of the Temple Mount, and against the salvage dig by the IAA prior to construction of the bridge.

"The Islamic world's reaction to this insulting move should make the regime occupying Quds (Jerusalem) regret (its action) ... Silence over this issue is not acceptable," said Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the state radio.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also condemned the excavation. "The nature of the Zionist regime is to ruin and cause conflict," Iran's students news agency ISNA quoted the president as saying.

The Syrians, in a statement by an "official in the Foreign Ministry," according to the official Syrian news agency, said "aggression against Al-Aqsa is a blow to the holy places of Islam" and was against the sensibilities of Muslims the world over.

Jordan's King Abdullah on Wednesday released an unusual statement warning Israel against damaging the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Arab news outlets still played the Temple Mount story Wednesday, though to a lesser extent than on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said in response to the criticism that "the Temple Mount is the holiest place in the world to the Jewish people," and also that "the State of Israel will never infringe on the freedom of religion for other faiths in Jerusalem."

Livni said "irresponsible elements that know full well that there is no damage here to the holy site" were taking advantage of Israeli democracy "to fan religious feelings to make political profit."

In another incident, three Palestinian teens were detained after throwing stones at a bus near the Rashadiyeh school on Sultan Suleiman Street in East Jerusalem.

Police continue to maintain an expanded presence in the area of the Temple Mount and East Jerusalem.

Wednesday and Thursday, Muslims under the age of 45 are barred from the Temple Mount, and no tourists or Jewish visitors are allowed.

Palestinian factions, among them Fatah and Hamas in Tul Karm, have called for a new intifada to protect Al-Aqsa. The Islamic Jihad announced that Qassams fired at southern Israel were a response to excavations in the Temple Mount area.

The Justice Ministry prepared Wednesday to examine the legality of the work being carried out after it was reported that the IAA is carrying out a salvage dig, which does not require a permit.

An examination of the legality of the permit issued by the licensing authority for construction of a new bridge to replace the rickety wooden one over the ramp connecting the Mugrabi Gate to the Western Wall plaza has also begun, and is expected to be completed next week.

The Justice Ministry said even if it is found that the permit should not have been issued due to the existence of other plans, "there is nothing to prevent promoting a new plan." The ministry stressed that it was dealing only with legal aspects of the work," and was leaving political and public aspects to others.

Hundreds gather in Jerusalem to protest Temple Mount construction

[Al-khiyal]

CAIRO - The Arab League is to convene an urgent meeting of permanent delegates on Saturday to discuss Israeli works near Islam's third holiest site in Jerusalem, league sources said.

Delegates from the 22-member body are expected to meet at the league's headquarters in Cairo to discuss "Israel's continued violations against the holy Al-Aqsa mosque", the source said on Thursday.

"This Israeli aggression is part of repeated Israeli attempts to impose a status quo in Jerusalem," said the Palestinian Authority's representative at the league, Hussein Abdel Khaleq.

The Palestinian Authority called for the meeting "to examine this critical situation which threatens the Al-Aqsa mosque and the possibility of a joint Arab position in the face of this danger," he told reporters.

Riyadh denounces 'hostile' Israeli works

Saudi Arabia on Thursday denounced Israeli works near the third holiest site in Islam as a "hostile action," adding its voice to a swell of Arab and Muslim fury over the construction and excavation work.

"Saudi Arabia is following with deep concern the work being carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities... and condemns hostile Israeli actions at the third holiest site in Islam," said an official statement carried by the SPA news agency.

The oil-rich kingdom urged the international community to intervene in order to halt "this flagrant Israeli aggression... which is a provocation to the feelings of Muslims worldwide."

Despite fury from Arab and Muslim leaders and Palestinian protests, Israel was continuing initial excavations for a third day on Thursday ahead of beginning new construction near the mosque compound.

The Israel Antiquities Authority said the work, expected to take months, is to strengthen an access ramp to Dung Gate for the "benefit and safety of visitors" after damage caused by an earthquake and snowstorms in February 2004.

But the Muslim trust that oversees the compound charges that the Israelis are levelling a mound which contains two underground rooms connected to the mosque complex, and whose destruction risks undermining its foundations.

The compound, which houses both the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, is where the second Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000 after a controversial visit by then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon.

It is revered by Jews as the site of their ancient temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

In 1996, more than 80 people were killed in three days of Palestinian riots after then Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened a new entrance to a controversial archaeological tunnel near the holy sites.

Muslims urge action against Israeli mosque compound works

Iran joined a swell of Muslim leaders who on Wednesday condemned Israel's works near the flashpoint mosque compound in Jerusalem and urged other Islamic countries to take action to stop it.

"The reaction of the Islamic world to this insulting move should be in a way to make the Zionist regime regret it," state television quoted supreme leader Ali Khamenei as saying.

"Silence in this regard is not permissible at all, and action is necessary from some leaders in the Arab world," Khamenei added, without elaborating.

Lebanon's Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah also urged Arab and Islamic nations to act against the "blatant aggression" by Israel.

"The actions of the Israeli occupation forces... are a blatant aggression on the Arab and Muslim sacred places," a Hezbollah statement said.

"Remaining silent toward what has happened encourages the enemy to make much more important and dangerous violations," it said.

"We ask Arab and Islamic countries and peoples to bear complete responsibility in confronting the Zionist plots," it said.

The Saudi Arabia-based chief of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference accused Israel of flouting international law.

The works constitute a "flagrant violation of international law which does not allow an occupying state to change the religious and historic landmarks of the territories it occupies," Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement.

Ihsanoglu said he had been in contact with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose country currently chairs the 57-member OIC, to discuss possible "Islamic action to confront Israel's attacks against Al-Aqsa mosque," the statement said.

Muslim and Arab leaders, including the Waqf religious trust in Jerusalem, said the work is endangering the foundations of the Al-Aqsa compound.

Qatar, which has political contacts with Israel, called the works a violation of UN resolutions.

The Qatari cabinet "affirmed its rejection of these Israeli practices aimed at Judaizing Jerusalem and obliterating its Arab and Islamic identity, and which constitute a violation of the resolutions of international legitimacy," QNA news agency said.

In Yemen, the official Saba news agency quoted a government spokesman as accusing Israel of "showing contempt for the feelings of all Muslims" by pressing ahead with the works.

Both Qatar and Yemen urged the international community to stop the Israeli action.

On Tuesday, Jordan lodged a formal complaint with Israel over the work - which King Abdullah II called "unacceptable"-- and asked the Jewish state to stop it.

Egypt has also called on Israel to "immediately halt any activity or construction in this area, or the carrying out of work which could provoke the sentiments of Muslims and cause their anger," Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Tuesday.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition movement in the country, urged Arabs and Muslims worldwide to express their anger and denounce the construction.

The 22-member Arab League has condemned the construction, calling it a "criminal act" and demanded "the immediate halt of this flagrant Israeli aggression against the most important Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem."

The Israeli press has also joined the criticism, with an editorial in top-selling daily Yediot Aharonot accusing the authorities of courting a new conflict with the Palestinians.

"The volcano in Jerusalem is threatening to erupt once again, and perhaps to ignite a third intifada," warned an article entitled "Playing with Fire."

Israel minister demands halt to Jerusalem works

Israel's defence minister has written to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asking for an immediate halt to public works near Jerusalem's ultra-sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque that have sparked Muslim rage.

Amir Peretz said work on a new access bridge should stop, citing fears that the security situation will deteriorate, an official said on condition of anonymity.

"The entire matter is currently being looked into, particularly in the prime minister's office," the official added.

The Haaretz newspaper said Peretz's letter was attached to an opinion piece written by Reserve General Amos Gilad, a senior defence ministry official, saying that the construction would foment fury in the Arab world.

Arab League to hold crisis talks on holy site