Jerusalem archaeological Dig Unites Palestinians
Pastor Dale Morgan
Feb 5, 6:51 PM EST
*Jerusalem archaeological Dig Unites Palestinians*
By MATTI FRIEDMAN
Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP) -- In the space of one day, a small archaeological dig in
Jerusalem's Old City became a rallying call aimed at uniting
Palestinians against Israel.
The dig - a few waterlogged sandbags and black buckets of earth behind
aluminum walls - is meant to prepare the way for a new pedestrian
walkway up to one of the world's most explosive holy sites, the compound
known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.
Though archaeologists insist there is no danger to the walled compound,
it inflamed Muslim fears that Israel was planning to damage Islamic holy
sites and briefly caused rival Palestinian factions to put aside their
differences and condemn Israel together.
The new walkway is supposed to replace an unsafe old ramp that partially
collapsed in a snowstorm three years ago. But even minor maintenance can
have deep implications in Jerusalem.
For Palestinians, no symbol is more emotive than the Noble Sanctuary,
where Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven in a nighttime
journey recounted in the Quran, the Muslim holy book. The compound
houses Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine.
Jews revere the compound as the site of their two ancient temples.
When Israel opened a tunnel alongside the compound in 1996, it sparked
clashes that killed 80 people. In 2000, then-opposition leader Ariel
Sharon visited the site. The next day, riots erupted, leading to years
of violence.
With the Palestinians in the throes of a bloody internal conflict, the
Israeli dig offered a chance to display a rare unity.
"Israel, which today is playing with fire when it touches Al-Aqsa, knows
the consequences of this playing with fire," said Khaled Mashaal, the
exiled leader of the Islamist group Hamas, which controls the
Palestinian Cabinet and advocates Israel's destruction.
Fighting between Hamas and Fatah, the more moderate movement led by
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, has claimed over 130 lives since
May. Despite the internal fissures, Fatah and nearly all other
Palestinian factions were not far behind Mashaal.
Islamic Jihad, a small and violent group funded by Syria and Iran and
responsible for dozens of suicide attacks on Israelis, warned on its Web
site that they would "shake the land underneath the legs of the
Zionists" and that Israel was "opening the door for a new war with the
Islamic nation."
The Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades, a Fatah-linked militant group, weighed in
with similar fiery threats, along with Hamas' Qassam Brigades. Inside
Israel, Raed Salah, the fiery leader of the Islamic Movement, called on
his followers to come from all over the country to protect the site.
But on Monday, the high compound was placid and nearly empty: a handful
tourists walked around snapping pictures in a brisk wind, eyed by
Israeli policemen and guards from the Islamic Waqf, which administers
the holy site.
Adnan Husseini, the Waqf's director, said he was concerned the new
walkway could damage the original ramp up to the compound's Mugrabi
Gate. The ramp, he said was Waqf property and the new construction
constituted a violation of the site.
"This is a very dangerous project that will damage things of great
historical value in this very sensitive place," Husseini said.
Husseini said he suspected that the excavations around the holy site
were attempts to tunnel under it, and demanded that Israel cease all
digs immediately.
"We call for an end to all excavations," he said.
Osnat Goaz, a spokeswoman for the Israel Antiquities Authority, rejected
claims that the excavations posed any danger to the holy site.
"None of these digs are close to the Temple Mount," Goaz said. "The
Israel Antiquities Authority has not dug, is not digging and will not
dig underneath the Temple Mount."
Jordan, which has a custodial role over the site, expressed concern
about the work there, according to the kingdom's official Petra news agency.
Jordanian government spokesman Nasser Judeh quoted Prime Minister Marouf
al-Bakhit as saying that the dig was "a big concern to Jordan, its king,
people and government," Petra reported.
Al-Bakhit urged experts to "follow up the issue and use all diplomatic
channels to avoid any threat which could harm the safety and the
identity of Al-Aqsa mosque," Petra reported.