Damage on Temple Mount Could Bring Deadly Results

Failing To Supervise Construction at Holy Site, Israel Risks Violence If Structures Collapse

JERUSALEM — Another damaged structure on the Temple Mount is raising fears once again that a serious international crisis could be just a burst water pipe away.

Two weeks ago, a section of a wall that is part of the Islamic Museum on the Temple Mount collapsed, leaving a gaping hole of dirt about 120 square feet, located just to the right of the Mugrabi Gate. The hole is visible from the Western Wall plaza.

The collapse is another in a series of instances of structural damage that critics say have resulted from the Israeli government's decision to yield to the Waqf, the Palestinian Authority-appointed Islamic religious authority that has day-to-day control over the Temple Mount.

In its attempt to avoid an international incident by abrogating its authority on the Temple Mount, they say, Israel is risking a far greater danger by neglecting its duty to supervise unauthorized construction. In the minds of some critics, a major catastrophe that could damage the Islamic holy sites is bound to occur, for which Muslims would blame Israel. The repercussions could be deadly, with riots across the Muslim world, a wave of violence in Europe or even a full-blown Arab-Israeli war.

"We have been warning [about] this very point from the very beginning," said Eilat Mazar, a spokeswoman for the Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, which has been decrying for years the lack of archaeological management at the site. "We were asking for supervision, professional supervision, as is normal and customary all over the state. You must have supervision."

Adnan Husseini, director of the Waqf in Jerusalem, was quoted in news accounts saying the wall collapsed "as a result of Israeli interference in our work and preventing us from fixing this wall after we had found that it needed urgent work to prevent it from collapsing."

But Israeli police spokesman Gil Kleiman said the Israeli police did not interfere. "In the clearest terms possible, no request was made to the Israel police by anybody in the Waqf regarding restructuring or rebuilding that wall," Kleiman had said two weeks ago.

The Temple Mount problems began in 1996, when Israeli authorities opened a second entrance to the Western Wall tunnel and the Waqf expelled inspectors from the Antiquities Authority, which by Israeli law is responsible for supervising any construction work carried out at holy sites. A series of projects were then started by the Waqf without the authority's approval, and although authority officials could sometimes gain access, they were not allowed to photograph or document anything they saw.

The Waqf banned Jews from the Mount following Ariel Sharon's September 2000 visit, after which Palestinian rioting broke out. Finally this June, non-Muslims were again allowed to visit in organized groups.

Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Natan Sharansky said the government was working to strike a deal with the Waqf, under which the Waqf would comply with construction regulations. Sharansky said he will convene his Interministerial Committee on Jerusalem right after the holidays to pursue the issue.

Critics of the Waqf's construction projects charge that the digging and building is causing irreparable damage to archaeological remains from the First and Second Temple periods in the area known as Solomon's Stables, where the Waqf built an enormous underground mosque.

Critics say the building is part of a continuing Palestinian campaign to deny a historical Jewish presence in Jerusalem. Just two months ago, in fact, P.A. Mufti Ikrima Sabri told a German publication, "There is not [even] the smallest indication of the existence of a Jewish temple on this lace in the past. In the whole city, there is not even a single stone indicating Jewish history."

Concerns about archaeological damage have given way to a more immediate fear: The construction, some said, was leading to a weakening of whole areas of the Temple Mount, as well as its supporting outer walls, with many of the parts in danger of collapsing. Water was seen dripping out of a rock in the Western Wall, and there were dark moisture stains and a bulge farther south on the Western Wall, which Antiquities Authority officials said was caused by water seeping from a garden above, creating pressure on the wall. The worst damage occurred at the southern wall of the Temple Mount, where a small bulge eventually widened to more than 100 feet, protruding more than three feet. Here, too, the cause was thought to be excess water pressure.

A year ago a compromise was finally reached between Israeli authorities and the Waqf that would allow engineers from Jordan to fix the problem, but some fear they are not doing enough.

"It is a small Band-Aid on a very large wound," Mazar of the Antiques Authority said. "The source, the heart, is sick there. The whole irrigation there, the whole system of running water, should be taken care of very professionally, and nothing of the kind is done. It's just a matter of time when this water will come out and make another bulge in the wall."

Mazar said that the 36 acres of the Temple Mount platform, and the space below, has endured years of historic decay and damage from earthquakes. Following the devastating earthquake of 1927, Mazar added, nothing was strengthened or preserved in any way except Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was collapsing.

"Everything that was done since [then] related only to the Islamic monuments," she said. "But the whole platform, a huge ancient platform, was never checked, strengthened, preserved and watched by professionals in order to see that it's going to hold."

Sharansky, however, said that the government has done much to stop illegal construction. "The bringing of construction materials was practically stopped, and instruments for cutting the stones was also stopped," he said. "We can't say that we are in a situation of full transparency; we can't say we have full cooperation of the Waqf. But that is definitely our aim."

Mazar said the collapse two weeks ago is not directly connected to the problems of the southern wall and the water leak in the Western Wall stones, but it is simply another example of the overall destruction that is taking place.

"We are very worried about the whole area of the platform, the area of the Temple Mount, which is built over a very, very large cistern," she said. "It's hollow underground, it's not supervised, and it's not preserved, and in the current construction, tractors and trucks are crossing the area. So it's just a matter of time — and it seems soon — that there's going to be a disaster."

The Festival of Sukkot (Booths) begins tonight. Tomorrow's haftarah (selection from Prophets) is Zechariah 14.

Zec 14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

Zec 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which [is] before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Zec 14:5 And ye shall flee [to] the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee.

Zec 14:6 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the light shall not be clear, [nor] dark:

Zec 14:7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, [that] at evening time it shall be light.

Zec 14:8 And it shall be in that day, [that] living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Zec 14:10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and [from] the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

Zec 14:11 And [men] shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

Zec 14:12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

Zec 14:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

Zec 14:14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

Zec 14:15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

Zec 14:16 And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Zec 14:17 And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up of [all] the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

Zec 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that [have] no [rain]; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Zec 14:19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Zec 14:20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

Zec 14:21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

The Story of Moshe Feiglin

Shortly before his death [in May 2001], Feisal Husseini, who was appointed by Arafat to be responsible for Jerusalem affairs, and Jewish Leadership founder Moshe Feiglin held a debate in the Tzavta Club in Jerusalem. The debate was held under the auspices of a left-wing organization, and was attended by foreign reporters. The moderator attempted to have Feiglin and Husseini shake hands, but Feiglin refused, saying that he does not shake hands with people who wish to destroy him. "This of course lost Feiglin some points amidst the mostly left-wing crowd."

When Feiglin's turn to speak came, he pulled out a Koran and asked Husseini, "Is this your holy book?" When Husseini said yes, Feiglin pulled out a Tanach (Bible) and said, "And you agree that this is my holy book, correct?" After that point was agreed upon as well, Feiglin said, "In my holy book, Jerusalem is mentioned hundreds of times by name, and an additional hundreds of times in other references," and he gave several examples from various verses. After this point was also agreed upon, Feiglin said, "Now you show me one place where Jerusalem is mentioned in your holy book!" Husseini almost "swallowed his tongue," and after a few uncomfortable seconds of silence, a loud wave of applause swept the room.

"Although it was clear that the debate had ended, the moderator asked another question or two in order to soften the impression, but it was clear the Moshe had won with a total knock-out. A few days later, Husseini set off for the Persian Gulf, where he died of a heart attack."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.