Israel Urged to Halt Archaeological Work
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mar 14, 9:04 PM EDT
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Israel Urged to Halt Archaeological Work*
PARIS (AP) -- A UNESCO panel has urged Israel to immediately halt
archaeological work at a Jerusalem holy site that has angered Muslims
around the world.
Muslims fear the work will harm Islamic shrines on the hilltop compound,
which is known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to
Muslims. Excavations on a ramp leading up to the disputed holy site
sparked clashes between police and Muslims in Jerusalem last month.
A report for the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
released in Paris on Wednesday, said Israel should have sought the
advice of international organizations before it started the
archaeological work.
The panel also said work done on the site was already sufficient to
examine the structure of the ramp, and Israel "should be asked to stop
immediately the archaeological excavations."
In February, however, UNESCO concluded that the excavations posed no
threat to the stability of the site, and the new report also credits
Israel with adhering to "professional standards."
A spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, Mark Regev, said Wednesday
the U.N. report proved that Israel's work would not harm Muslim holy sites.
"This totally supports our stance in that this (work) is benign," Regev
said. "This publicly disputes some of the hateful messages put out there
by extremists for political gain."
He would not comment on UNESCO's call to halt the work at the site or
its assertion that Israel should have sought international advice before
beginning to dig.