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February 16, 2001/Shevet 23, 5761, Vol. 53, No.20
Conflict simmers on Temple Mount as bulldozers roll
GIL SEDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - Israel's elections and the suspension of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have created the impression that the controversy over control of Jerusalem's Temple Mount has been deferred.
On the ground, however, the controversy surrounding the site deepens.
Beyond the larger question of sovereignty over the site - which the two sides began to address during last July's Camp David summit - is a long-simmering dispute over whether Israel should prevent construction work being carried out by the Wakf, or Islamic religious trust, whose Palestinian Authority-appointed officials have day-to-day control over the site.
Many Israelis fear that the work being carried out on the Mount, which the Wakf has prevented Israel from supervising, is causing irreparable damage to archaeological remains from the First and Second Temple periods.
If Israel attempts to interfere, however, the repercussions among an already-inflamed Palestinian populace could be explosive. The site, the holiest in the Jewish religion, is one of the holiest sites in Islam as well.
Israeli archaeologists last month called for greater supervision of Wakf excavations. Their call followed reports that bulldozers had dug a deep ditch near the Dome of the Rock, causing damage to a floor dating from the Second Temple period.
The archaeologists charge that during extensive construction work over the past two years, thousands of tons of gravel - which could contain important relics - have been removed from the Mount. The Wakf has unceremoniously dumped much of the gravel in a trash heap.
The archaeologists' charges have prompted several prominent Israelis to urge the government to take steps to stop the Wakf-supervised work.
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