Israeli anger over holy site work
by Martin Asser
Muslim authorities at al-Aqsa mosque, also venerated by Jews as the
Temple Mount, are digging a 150-metre trench for water pipes and
electricity cables.
Israeli critics say the work is causing irreparable damage,
indiscriminately piling up earth and carved stones.
Mosque officials insist it is urgent infrastructure work doing no
damage.
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To critics' eyes the work is a deliberate act of cultural
vandalism |
The Aqsa Mosque/Temple Mount compound is the Middle East's most
sensitive disputed religious site.
Competing claims have been a catalyst for violence in the recent past
and determining its fate lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian
dispute.
Jewish tradition reveres the area as the remains of King Solomon's
temple, while Muslim tradition has it as the location of the Prophet
Muhammad's ascent into heaven.
With the rest of east Jerusalem the shrine was occupied by Israel in
the 1967 war. Now the compound is run by the Muslim Waqf authorities
under Israeli security control. The Waqf resumed working this week,
using a mechanical digger on a metre-deep trench, cutting through the
subsoil and piling it up beside the trench.
Israeli archaeologists say such material should be carefully sifted
and documented, as it would be even at sites of far less significance
than this most sensitive cultural and religious location.
Gabriel Barkai of the Committee Against the Destruction of
Antiquities on the Temple Mount calls it an act of barbarism.
"They are digging in the most crucial and delicate point of the
Temple Mount - of the whole country," the Bar-Ilan University senior
lecturer told the BBC.
"They should be using a toothbrush, not a bulldozer."
Dr Barkai identifies the area currently under excavation as the outer
courts of the Second Temple, built by Herod the Great in the First
Century BC.
He maintains it is where the best preservation of antiquities was
anticipated, since other parts of the compound are built on exposed
bedrock.
He accuses the Islamic authorities of wanting to "show who is the
boss" by destroying Jewish remains in al-Aqsa mosque.
He also lambastes the Israeli Antiquities Authority, meant to
supervise any work at archaeological sites, for apparently giving the
work legitimacy.
Yusuf Natsheh of the Islamic Waqf dismisses such claims, saying the
area has been dug many times and arguing that remains unearthed would be
from the 16th or 17th century Ottoman period.
He says the work is urgently needed to maintain the al-Aqsa compound
as an important religious institution.
"We regret some Israeli groups try to use archaeology to achieve
political ends," Dr Natsheh told the BBC.
"But their rules of archaeology do not apply to the Haram (compound);
it is a living religious site in an occupied land."
The Israeli Antiquities Authority has not commented on the issue.
"They filled their mouths with water," as Dr Barkai puts it.
"The earth here is saturated by history. All we can do is alert the
world to what is happening and try to stop the next disaster," he says.
As far as Dr Natsheh is concerned the Israeli government has no
authority over what is happening, as the Muslim authorities do not
recognise its legitimacy in the occupied territory.
"We inform the Israeli police about what we intend to do, and then go
ahead, so they have no excuse to prevent us," he says.
BBC |
