- The defense establishment fears the Solomon's Stables
area on Jerusalem's Temple Mount will collapse under the weight of the
hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers who are expected to arrive
for Ramadan observances which start in another three weeks, Israel Radio
reported Sunday morning.
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- The foundations of the mosque at the site are old and
unstable and a combination of roofing work on the building and a recent
earthquake have worsened its structural condition.
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- Some 200,000 worshippers are expected to attend Friday
prayers on the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif or
the Noble Sanctuary, during the holy month of Ramadan.
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- The Antiquities Authority said collapse of the building's
roof and walls is almost certain.
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- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has directed the security
establishment to prepare to prevent a mass disaster.
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- Israel has asked Jordan and the Waqf Muslim Religious
Authority to block access to the roof of Solomon's Stables and to the eastern
arches of the mosque.
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- However, the Waqf said there is no danger of collapse
and called the fears an Israeli plot to garner control of the various mosques
in the Temple Mount compound.
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- If the Waqf does not agree to prevent access to the concerned
areas, the police would consider using officers to block access.
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- "The Jordanians understand the problem," interim
Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra told Israel Radio on Sunday morning.
"We won't have any choice but to reduce the number of worshippers
on the Temple Mount during Ramadan.
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- "I think that people will understand the issue.
We have no intention of preventing worshippers from getting to the Temple
Mount. If there are [certain areas] blocked off that satisfy our requirements
we would then be able to allow more worshippers to enter inside. We have
no intention of preventing Muslims from coming to pray," Ezra said.
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- In early September, the High Court of Justice issued
a temporary injunction prohibiting the Israel Antiquities Authority, the
public security minister and the prime minister from authorizing the Waqf
to remove from the Temple Mount tons of soil assumed to be rich in archaeological
artifacts.
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- The soil was excavated some four years ago during the
construction of large gates to the underground mosque in the area known
as Solomon's Stables. The injunction was issued at the request of the Committee
to Prevent the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount. Members
of the committee include senior scholars specializing in the archaeology
of the Temple Mount and its environs, as well as writers and other public
figures.
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- According to the petition, "At the end of November
1999, the Waqf tricked the government of Israel, and under the pretext
of opening an emergency exit to the Solomon's Stables mosque - which had
been built illegally and inaugurated in December of 1996 - the Waqf took
advantage of the negligence of the government of Israel and its indifference
to the fate of the archaeological remains on the Temple Mount, dug a huge
2,000-square meter pit beneath the Temple Mount some 13 meters deep, and
opened a main door to the Solomon's Stable mosque 10 meters wide and 13
meters high."
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