Temple Mount News

[Soldier4Christ]

 Temple Mount dig on hold pending cabinet approval

A salvage dig near the Temple Mount's Mughrabi Gate will not be resumed just yet, after Culture Minister Ghaleb Majadele appealed to the cabinet yesterday against a ministerial committee's decision to restart the work.

In his letter to the cabinet, Majadele, who is responsible for the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that resumption of the work is liable to cause riots, especially coming so shortly before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's planned departure for the Annapolis peace conference. He also asked that opinions be solicited from all the relevant agencies, including the Antiquities Authority and UNESCO, before any decision is made.

The dig is a precursor to the planned construction of a bridge leading to the Mughrabi Gate. The bridge would replace an access ramp that collapsed a few years ago.

Hadash Party Chairman Mohammed Barakeh assailed the ministerial committee's decision yesterday, terming it a "provocation" aimed at "torpedoing the meeting in Annapolis, and the negotiations with the Palestinians, before they have even begun."

"This further reveals the true and well-known face of the Olmert-Barak-Lieberman government," he continued, adding that the decision could set the entire region on fire.

The Islamic Movement also blasted the decision, saying that it indicates Israel's true intentions at the Annapolis conference. "The Palestinians must understand that this is the moment for internal dialogue on establishing a national unity government that would uphold vital Palestinian interests in the face of Israel's attempt to undermine them," it declared in a statement. It also urged Muslims from all over Israel to go to Jerusalem and "demonstrate a presence."

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, chief rabbi of the Western Wall, retorted that the planned construction is vital to the safety of people visiting the Wall, and urged that it be completed as soon as possible. He also rejected Arab claims that the work is being carried out under the Temple Mount itself.

"These are false claims that lack even a shred of truth," he said. "Work in the Temple Mount compound would violate halakha (Jewish law)."

Such accusations, he added, "inflame hatred and incitement for no reason. Politics must be distanced from the holy places and stick to the facts."

[Soldier4Christ]

Priestly blessing on Temple Mount 
For arguably 1st time since 1st century destruction

A historic first: Last week, during a special visit to the Temple Mount, the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26) was recited there, for arguably the first time since the 1st-century destruction.

The Blessing is recited daily in synagogues in Israel by descendants of Aaron the Priest, and only on festivals in the Diaspora.

The special visit was held to commemorate the 842nd anniversary of Maimonides's famous visit to the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.  A group of some 25 Jews, organized by the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, marked the special day with a commemorative visit.  Giving extra-special meaning to the occasion was a spontaneous Priestly Blessing delivered to the group by Yehuda Katz, the lead singer of the Reva L'Sheva band, and Eliezer Breuer, originally of the former Soviet Union and now from Kiryat Arba.

Rabbi Chaim Richman, one of the organizers of the trip, said, "This was probably the first time since the destruction of the Temple [1,928 years ago] that the Priestly Blessing was delivered on our holiest site.  At times like these, when there is talk of giving away our precious places, and when despair is sometimes in the air, events of this nature serve to remind us that G-d has not forgotten about us, and that He still has big plans for both us and the Holy Temple - and that the Temple will yet become the focal point of the world once again."


Another notable aspect of the visit was the welcoming attitude of the police.  "In an unusual departure from standard procedure," one participant said, "we found that the police were particularly sympathetic to our needs.  At one point, when the Moslem Wakf guards started yelling that we were praying, one of the policemen took our side and even threatened to remove them if necessary."

Maimonides, also known as the Rambam, made his historic visit to the Temple Mount on the sixth day of the month of MarCheshvan in the year 1166 (4926 in the Jewish calendar). Unanimously considered one of Judaism's greatest figures, the Rambam wrote that he put himself in danger to make a trip to Jerusalem, where he entered "the Large and Holy House [the Temple Mount] and prayed." Three days later, he also visited the Machpelah Cave in Hevron, and vowed to commemorate the anniversaries of those days as his personal festivals for years to come.

Last week's visit was also led by Rabbis Yisrael Ariel and Yehuda Glick.  Rabbi Ariel is a former Yeshiva head, founder of the Temple Institute, and one of the paratroopers who took part in the 1967 liberation of the Temple Mount. Rabbi Glick made news briefly over two years ago when, as Director of the Absorption Ministry's Ashkelon region, he became the first public official to resign in protest over the plans to withdraw from and destroy Gush Katif.

Though the Chief Rabbinate disagrees, the Yesha Rabbis Council has ruled that one who ascends and visits the Temple Mount while adhering to three conditions - prior immersion in a mikveh; keeping the laws of Awe of the Temple (no leather shoes, proper respect, etc.); and knowledge of the precise permitted areas - is fulfilling a "great mitzvah [Torah commandment]."

To arrange a trip to the Temple Mount in accordance with the above requirements of Jewish law, click here.

"The more Jews who visit this holy site," Rabbi Richman told Arutz-7, "the more cooperative the police are with us and the more respectful they are of our needs - as some police officers have indicated to me.  And the more we encourage Jews with stories like what happened last week, the more they will come."

[Littleboy]

Praise be to God, Bless'ed be his name...
We've about come FULL circle Brother, AMEN!
Unfortunantly the only way i can get to Isreal is: Google earth (or a act of God)
You know something pastor, when i was a little boy (12 or so)
I asked God:
To let me be one of the 2 guy's (candlesticks) that will stand up to the World & AntiChrist!
At this age i knew form scripture that God had put the spirit of Elijah in John The Baptist,
and the book of Malachi talks about a 3rd one that will come. Have you read about this?
Not about the 2 candlesticks, but the 3rd Elijah?
When i was little i pretended to be Samson or Gideon, even Hercules...

I hope you don't think of me as a nut-job now?
P.S
God Bless You for all you do for his Children,
you are truely a Gatherer for our Father...
Your Loving Brother Duane

 

[Shammu]

First Temple-era seal discovered

by Etgar Lefkovits
THE JERUSALEM POST

A First-Temple period seal has been discovered amidst piles of rubble from Jerusalem's Temple Mount, an Israeli archaeologist said Tuesday, in what could prove to be an historic find.

The small - less than 1 cm - seal impression, or bulla, discovered Tuesday by Bar-Ilan University archaeologist Dr. Gabriel Barkay amidst piles of rubble from the Temple Mount would mark the first time that an written artifact was found from the Temple Mount dating back to the First Temple period.

The 2,600 year old artifact, with three lines in ancient Hebrew, was discovered amidst piles of rubble discarded by the Islamic Wakf that Barkay and a team of young archaeologists and volunteers are sifting through on the grounds of a Jerusalem national park.

The seal, which predates the destruction of the First Jewish temple in 586 BCE, was presented Tuesday night to the press at an archaeological conference at the City of David sponsored by the right-wing Elad organization.

Barkay said that the find was the first of its kind from the time of King David.

He has not yet determined what the writing is on the seal, although three Hebrew letters -- thought to be the name of its owner -- are visible on one of its line.

The seal was found amidst thousands of tons of rubble discarded by Wakf officials at city garbage dumps six years ago, following the Islamic Trust's unilateral construction of an mosque at an underground compound of the Temple Mount known as the Solomon's Stables.

After the Antiquities Authority voiced disinterest in thoroughly sifting through the rubble discarded by the Wakf, Barkay applied -- and eventually received –a license from the Antiquities Authority to sort through the piles of earth thrown into the garbage dump in search of antiquities, and has since found scores of history-rich artifacts, from the First Temple Period until today amidst the rubble, including a large amount of pottery dating from the Bronze Ages through modern times, a large segment of a marble pillar's shaft, and over 100 ancient coins, among them several from the Hasmonean Dynasty.

While inexact, the ongoing sifting project, which is now being sponsored by Elad, has being called virtually unprecedented since archaeological excavation has never been permitted on the Temple Mount itself.

Meanwhile, in a separate major archaeological development in Jerusalem, a Jewish ritual bath, or mikva, dating back to the Second Temple period, and a First Temple Wall have been found in an underground chamber adjacent to the Western Wall tunnels, the Antiquities Authority's Jerusalem regional archaeologist Jon Seligman said during a tour.

The site is part of a new state-of-the-art tourist center at the Western Wall tunnels, which will be open to the public in two months' time.

The impressive site, which incorporates ancient and modern Jewish history in an attempt to reach out to Israeli youth, includes an elaborate audiovisual show, and nine magnificent glass sculptures, which serve to highlight both recent discoveries of artifacts and infrastructure dating back thousands of years, including one of the world's oldest aqueducts, as well as modern day Jewish history, such as the Holocaust and Israel's fallen soldiers.

[Shammu]

Ancient archaeological remains being found on the Temple Mount and at the same time religious Jews reciting the "priestly blessing" there on the Mount for the first time since the first century destruction of the Temple are both evidence that the prophetic scenario for the Temple Mount could be very close at hand, that is according to Bible prophecy.

Over the last year, many Israeli archaeologist have been protesting the destruction on the Temple Mount of artifacts and archaeological remains by the Muslim custodians of this sacred, Holy sight, all to no avail.

This illegal dig , according to some, had been supervised by the Israel Antiquities Authority to the chagrin of many renowned Israeli archaeologist. Now, with the announcement of a major archaeological find, artifacts dating back to the First Temple Period about 3,000 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority says there is a silver lining to this story.

This incident on the Temple Mount draws attention to the writings of an ancient Jewish prophet named Zechariah. He said that in the last days the Temple Mount would be the focus of controversy, Zechariah 12:2-3 and also in 1:14-16. The Temple Mount is a focus of controversy today.

This discovery of First Temple artifacts is evidence that there has been a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount dating back 3,000 years ago. A contradiction to the Muslim claims that there is no evidence of Jews ever being on the Temple Mount.

The recent visit to the Temple Mount by religious Jews, one of them a member of the newly formed Sanhedrin, to recite the "priestly blessing" is a precursor to rebuilding the Temple on Judaism's Holiest sight.

Additional evidence of how close the world may be to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy!!

[Shammu]

Torah Given to New Jewish Property Overlooking Temple Mount
 
by Ezra HaLevi

(IsraelNN.com) A Torah was given to a new Jewish residence and synagogue on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple Mount last week. Arutz-7 takes you there.

Jews have purchased and moved into two large apartment buildings at the top of Har HaZeitim, the Mount of Olives. Last week, Uri Hirsch, father-in-law of Arutz-7's Haggai Segal, donated a Torah Scroll to the new synagogue in the building in honor of the Jews evicted from Gush Katif.

The new building is called "Choshen." It looks down upon the Temple Mount. Enabling those who do not ascend the mount to be able to view Judaism's holiest site. Choshen can be seen from a distance as the building with the red-roofed pergola just to the left of the graves and Intercontinental Hotel atop the Mount of Olives.

Torah Given to New Jewish Property Overlooking Temple Mount

There are alot of pictures on the news site of this event.

Though I'd get into trouble if I lived there, I would be trying to tell them all about Jesus.

[Soldier4Christ]

Claim: Israel covering up
Temple Mount destruction 
Archaeologists accuse government of 'major crime,'
allowing Muslim authorities to pulverize antiquities

Prominent Temple archeologists here accused the Israeli government today of attempting to cover up its alleged failure to properly supervise a dig in which Islamic Authorities were accused of destroying Temple Mount antiquities.

Experts believe the discoveries included a wall from the Second Jewish Temple.

The archaeologists claim the government's release this week of some First Temple-period relics it says were found during the Islamic dig was part of the purported cover-up. The government's move followed a Supreme Court case charging Israel failed to stop massive destruction of Temple antiquities.

"The [Israeli government] Antiquities Authority clearly and obviously allowed the destruction of antiquities," charged third-generation Temple Mount archaeologist Eilat Mazar, speaking to WND. "What they did is the exact opposite of any proper archaeological supervision, and now they are showing what they say are important finds. They are covering up a major crime."

The Antiquities Authority yesterday released antiquities discovered by its archaeologists during what it said was an excavation coordinated with the Waqf, the Temple Mount's Islamic custodians. The released discoveries included fragments of bowl rims, bases and body shards, the base of a juglet used for the ladling of oil, the handle of a small juglet and the rim of a storage jar.

It was the first time archeological remains from the First Temple period have been found on the Mount.

"The layer is a closed, sealed archeological layer that has been untouched since as early as the eighth century BCE," said Yuval Baruch, the Jerusalem District archeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Waqf authorities denied any Israeli government excavation was conducted during their dig.

WND visited the site of the Waqf dig a number of times and found the Waqf operating bulldozers but saw no evidence of Israeli excavations.

Mazar and other leading archaeologists speaking to WND today said they were "dumbfounded" the Antiquities Authority claimed any excavation was done during the Islamic dig.

"Perhaps finds were discovered in between the teeth of the Waqf bulldozers, but it's ridiculous to say the Antiquities Authority supervised or conducted any proper dig," said Mazar of Hebrew University. "No proper excavation is conducted with bulldozers. No one saw or reported any excavation. How can an excavation be conducted in secret? Such work is a big job. They are trying to hide their failure to stop the Islamic destruction."

Mazar is also a fellow at Israel's Shalem Center and a member of the Public Committee for Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on Temple Mount. Her much-discussed discovery in the City of David, a neighborhood just south of Jerusalem's Old City Walls, is a massive building dating to the 10th century B.C. It is believed to be the remains of the palace of biblical King David, the second leader of a united kingdom of Israel, who ruled from around 1005 to 965 B.C.

Echoing Mazar's comments, a leading Israeli archaeologist charged the Israeli government was attempting to use the released Temple-era fragments as a "smokescreen" to "draw attention away from its incomprehensible failure to halt Muslim destruction" on the Temple Mount.

The expert and Mazar both said a Supreme Court case they brought against the government "prompted" the Antiquities Authority to release its finds.

This summer, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office agreed to allow bulldozers and other heavy equipment to dig a massive trench on the Temple Mount. The holy sites' Islamic Wafq custodians claimed the work was necessary to replace electrical cables outside mosques on the site. The dig, which extended to most of the periphery of the Mount, was protected by the Israeli police and was supposed to be supervised by the Israeli government's Antiquities Authority.

Allowing the use of bulldozers at any sensitive archaeological site is extremely unusual, particularly at the Temple Mount, which experts say contains sealed layers of artifacts as shallow as two to three feet below the surface. The Mount has never been properly excavated. Heavy equipment could easily damage any existing artifacts, say experts, who assert the area should be excavated slowly and carefully by hand.

In September, after bulldozers dug a trench 1,300 feet long and five feet deep, the Muslim diggers came across a wall Israeli archaeologists believe may be remains of an area of the Second Jewish Temple known as the woman's courtyard.

Israel, though, blocked leading archeologists from surveying the massive damage Islamic authorities are accused of causing to the purported wall. It refused to allow up Mazar and other prominent archaologists during many attempts by the experts to inspect the Muslim dig.

Earlier this month, Mazar and other archaeologists filed a Supreme Court case, in part using WND's reporting, to ensure a halt to the Islamic dig on the Mount. Mazar and the other experts were asked by the judge to leave the court while he deliberated with Antiquities Authority officials. Afterwards, the judge ruled based on undisclosed information provided by the officials he was convinced the Antiquities Authority had done it's job to protect the Mount.

"The Authority convinced the court it conducted proper excavations, which is ridiculous to everyone that watched the Islamic destruction," stated Mazar.

During the Muslim dig, the Waqf barred WND from inspecting and filming their massive trench.

The confrontation was captured on video by InfoLive.tv, an Internet-based television network broadcasting in four languages.

WND and the InfoLive.tv camera crew ascended the Mount to obtain footage of the trench, but Waqf guards backed up by the Israeli police stopped the news agencies from approaching open sections of the trench. The guards told WND only closed areas of the trench could be filmed. Sections of the massive trench were being closed up with dirt today before archeologists were able to inspect the site.

After persisting, one Waqf guard asked WND to shut off the camera and vacate the Temple Mount.

cont'd

[Soldier4Christ]

Rabbi Chaim Richman, director of Israel's Temple Institute, was among those on the Mount this summer. He told WND he attempted to take pictures of the damage the bulldozers were allegedly wrecking on the wall, but his digital camera was confiscated by Israeli police at the direction of Waqf officials.

"If Israel was building a shopping mall and they found what may be an ancient Buddhist structure, the government would stop the construction and have archaeologists go over the area with a fine tooth comb," Richman said. "Here, the holiest site in Judaism is being damaged, a Temple wall was found, and Israel is actively blocking experts from inspecting the site while allowing the destruction to continue."

Richman charged the Waqf was "trying to erase Jewish vestiges from the Temple Mount."

History of destruction

The last time the Waqf conducted a large dig on the Temple Mount – during construction 10 years ago of a massive mosque at an area referred to as Solomon's Stables – the Wafq reportedly disposed truckloads of dirt containing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods.

After media reported the disposals, Israeli authorities froze the construction permit given to the Wafq, and the dirt was transferred to Israeli archaeologists for analysis. The Israeli authorities found scores of Jewish Temple relics in the nearly disposed dirt, including coins with Hebrew writing referencing the Temple, part of a Hasmonean lamp, several other Second Temple lamps, Temple-period pottery with Jewish markings, a marble pillar shaft and other Temple period artifacts. The Waqf was widely accused of attempting to hide evidence of the existence of the Jewish Temples.

Temples 'never existed'

Most Palestinian leaders routinely deny well-documented Jewish ties to the Temple Mount.

Speaking to WND in a recent interview, Waqf official and chief Palestinian Justice Taysir Tamimi claimed the Jewish Temples "never existed."

"About these so-called two Temples, they never existed, certainly not at the Haram Al- Sharif (Temple Mount)," said Tamimi, who is considered the second most important Palestinian cleric after Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.

"Israel started since 1967 making archaeological digs to show Jewish signs to prove the relationship between Judaism and the city, and they found nothing. There is no Jewish connection to Israel before the Jews invaded in the 1880s," said Tamimi.

The Palestinian cleric denied the validity of dozens of digs verified by experts worldwide revealing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temples, tunnels that snake under the Temple Mount and more than 100 ritual immersion pools believed to have been used by Jewish priests to cleanse themselves before services. The cleansing process is detailed in the Torah.

Asked about the Western Wall, Tamimi said the structure was a tying post for Muhammad's horse and that it is part of the Al Aqsa Mosque, even though the wall predates the mosque by more than 1,000 years.

"The Western Wall is the western wall of the Al Aqsa Mosque," he said. "It's where Prophet Muhammad tied his animal which took him from Mecca to Jerusalem to receive the revelations of Allah."

The Palestinian media also regularly claim the Jewish Temples never existed.

Judaism's holiest site

While the Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, Muslims say it is their third holiest site.

The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. It was expanded by King Herod in 19 B.C. shortly before the birth of Jesus. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's "presence" dwelt. The Dome of the Rock now sits on the site and the Al Aqsa Mosque is adjacent.

The temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays.

The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark where Muslims came to believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven.

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from "a sacred mosque" – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest mosque" and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque later became associated with Jerusalem.

[Shammu]

Waqf boycotts Knesset committee

Head of Muslim body in charge of Temple Mount refuses to attend Knesset committee meeting on excavations at site. 'We don't recognize Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem,' he explains

Amnon Meranda
Published: 10.22.07, 22:33
Israel News

The Knesset State Control Committee decided Monday to ask the state comptroller to compile a report on the archeological digs carried out by the Muslim Waqf at the Temple Mount.

The decision came after a representative of the Muslim administrative body in charge of the holy site refused to attend the committee's meeting, stating that he did not recognize Israel's sovereignty at the Temple Mount or the Knesset's authority to make decisions on the matter.

Committee chairman MK Zevulun Orlev explained that the committee convened to discuss the alleged destruction of relics and other damages caused by the Waqf's digs. "We cannot ignore the fact that the Waqf does not recognize the Knesset and its committees. Its members are carrying out excavations at the Temple Mount, which is a very sensitive, special site," he explained.

The Waqf's director-general gotcha98 al-Husseini said his decision to shun the committee's invitation was dictated by the Waqf's year-long policy. "The Waqf does not acknowledge Israel's authority in Jerusalem or the Temple Mount…the Waqf boycotts Israeli politicians all the time."

Al-Husseini stressed that he did not intend to attend any formal meeting on the issue of the Temple Mount dig. "This is an Islamic issue that the Muslims should decide upon."

Waqf boycotts Knesset committee

[nChrist]

WOW!

This is almost as if GOD is preserving what HE wants preserved. The circumstances for a find of this magnitude aren't good at all. However, many other finds have been made under the same circumstances. NO - I don't believe this is a coincidence.

My first thoughts involved man discarding the things of GOD into the trash and GOD saying NO. These are just thoughts, but just think of the large number of amazing discoveries from Bible times just recently.

Love In Christ,
Tom

KEEP LOOKING UP!!

[Soldier4Christ]

It is amazing and I definitelydo not think it a coincidence either. I do believe that we will be seeing many more such things and very soon.

[Soldier4Christ]

Israel has no jurisdiction on Temple Mount, says culture minister

Raleb Majadele, Arieh Eldad polemicize over question of Israel's legal pull on Temple Mount. 'In keeping with the status-quo al-Aqsa cannot be under Israel's legal control,' says Majadele

Does the State of Israel have any jurisdiction on Temple Mount? Not according to Science, Culture and Sport Minister Raleb Majadele.

Majadele was called Tuesday to answer a parliamentary question regarding Israel's jurisdiction on the Temple Mount in regards to the digs performed on the site by the Waqf (Muslim administrative body in Jerusalem), which was brought to the Knesset by MK Arieh Eldad (National Union).

"I recently received a series of photographs of the digs near and around Temple Mount. The police is monitoring the digs, but there is no one from the Israel Antiquities Authority overseeing them and there is a real concern that any archeological finding discovered there might be destroyed by the Waqf," said Eldad.

"I would like to know what is being done in the immediate future to stop the destruction of the Temple's remains?"

The digs, replied Majadele, have been supervised by the IAA since their beginning, adding he has been working on "creating an understanding and cooperation between the Waqf and the IAA, which I hope will continue for a long time."

But does the State of Israel have any legal pull on Temple Mount, asked Eldad. "In my opinion," answered Majadele, "absolutely not."

Eldad went on to wonder if Majadele's reply was a testament to the government's opinion on the matter. "I can only speak my mind… I am a Muslim first and a minister second.

"Al-Aqsa (Mosque) is a holy site for Muslims and we are keeping the status-quo... but with all due respect, laws exist to honor man and his religion, not to enslave them. Al-Aqsa cannot be under Israel's legali jurisdiction."

Should the law contradict his religious beliefs, added Majadele, his choice is clear: "I'm a man of law and I will respect the State law, but if I have to choose between them and my faith, I will know where my choice lies."

Following Majadele's response to his query, Eldad demanded Tuesday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert fire Majadele, and called on Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to launch an investigation against him, on suspicion of breach of trust. 

[Soldier4Christ]

Wakf approves Ottoman memorial near Temple Mount

A Turkish government proposal to erect a memorial near the eastern wall of Jerusalem's Temple Mount to honor soldiers who died fighting for the Ottoman Empire has the backing of Islamic officials who oversee the ancient compound, Palestinian officials said Monday.

The plan, which would see the memorial's construction near a Muslim cemetery close to the Golden Gate, has the approval of Wakf officials who administer the Jerusalem holy site, but has not been formally submitted to Israeli officials for approval.

"This plan was approved by the Wakf," said Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs gotcha98 Husseini, referring to the Islamic Trust that administers the Temple Mount.

Husseini, a former Wakf director, added that there were "some difficulties" with advancing the project, which was first approved two years ago, citing Israeli opposition to the plan.

The intended memorial, which would be located several meters away from the Temple Mount on a 120-square meter plot, would be about three meters high and would be adorned by a Turkish flag.

The Jerusalem Municipality said Monday in a statement that no official request had been submitted to the city on the issue, but that if such a request were presented it would be considered and dealt with in accordance with the law.

The proposal is opposed by rightist city councilmen, but would more likely be authorized if it receives the backing of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, due to the diplomatic sensitivities involved.

The Prime Minister's Office said Monday that it was "unaware" of such a proposal.

Jerusalem city councilor Yair Gabbai (National Religious Party) has asked the city's legal adviser for a legal opinion on the planned memorial, noting that by law all construction is forbidden within 70 meters of the Temple Mount walls.

According to decades-old regulations in place at the Temple Mount, Israel maintains overall security control at the site, while the Wakf, or the Islamic Trust, is charged with day-to-day administration of the compound.

The Ottoman Empire ruled Jerusalem for 400 years between 1517 and 1917, when the British army led by General Allenby captured the city during World War I.

The proposed monument is a delicate issue because Turkey - which has repeatedly played the role of mediator between the Jewish state and its Muslim neighbors - is Israel's closest ally in the Islamic world.

Earlier this year, Turkey served as a mediator between Israel and Islamic officials over a controversial Israeli dig outside the Temple Mount compound which triggered low-level Arab violence throughout the region.

[nChrist]

UM? I wonder what JESUS CHRIST will do with HIS land after HE returns. Somehow, I doubt very seriously that there will be any Mosques. Every knee will bow to HIM, and the entire world will be under HIS Holy and Righteous Subjection.

Isaiah 9:2-7 NASB
The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

[Soldier4Christ]

Israeli leader lying about Temple Mount? 
Claims site not up for talks, but Palestinians say PM already agreed to forfeiture

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's statements yesterday that Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not up for negotiation are "false," according to a chief Palestinian negotiator who told WND the Israeli leader already agreed to forfeit Judaism's holiest site to a coalition of Arab countries.

"What Olmert said [regarding the Mount] is absolutely false. I think he's not yet ready to tell the Israeli public and is waiting for the right time and he fears his coalition with religious extremists will fall apart if he announces it now," said a senior Palestinian negotiator, speaking to WND today from Annapolis on condition his name be withheld.

Olmert's maintains a government coalition with the religious Shas party and Russian Yisroel Beiteinu party but if those two bolt, the prime minister could create a new coalition with leftist parties.

The chief Palestinian negotiator said in months leading up to Annapolis the Palestinian team was "surprised" by Olmert's willingness to give up the Mount.

"We had intense debates on many topics, which remain open and unsettled, but the Harem Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) is not a sticking point. The Israelis didn't argue with us. We were pleasantly surprised Olmert didn't debate about giving the lower section of the [Mount] either, which was a sticking point in the past."

According to the negotiator, Olmert agreed to evacuate the Mount but not to turn it over to the Palestinians alone. The negotiator said both sides agreed the Temple Mount would be given to joint Egypt, Jordan and Palestinian Authority control.

He said the Israeli government felt an umbrella group of several Arab countries controlling the holy site instead of only the PA would help ease Israeli domestic opposition to giving up the Temple Mount, since Egypt and Jordan are considered by Israeli policy to be moderate countries.

The Palestinian negotiator pointed out Israeli prime ministers previously denied withdrawal plans only to later carry them out. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, elected on a platform against evacuating territory, denied for his first year in office he would retreat from the Gaza Strip but in 2005 he carried out a Gaza withdrawal.

In a briefing to reporters yesterday, Olmert claimed Israel's sovereignty over the Temple Mount is not up for discussion. He said negotiations started at this week's Annapolis summit had no bearing on the situation on the Temple Mount.

At the start of Tuesday's summit, President Bush read a joint declaration agreed to by Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas committing the two to launch immediate negotiations aimed at "two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side."

The parties said they would aim to conclude an agreement before Bush leaves office next year, with Israel widely expected to evacuate large swaths of the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem, handing Abbas the strategic territories. Israel recaptured the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, in 1967.

"The negotiations will address all of the issues which we have thus far avoided dealing with," said Olmert on Tuesday. "I am convinced that the reality that emerged in our region in 1967 will change significantly. I know this. Many of my people know this. We are prepared for it."

Olmert would not be the first Israeli leader willing to forfeit the Temple Mount.

During U.S.-led negotiations in 2000, Ehud Barak, then prime minister, reportedly was willing to forfeit the Temple Mount to international control. The negotiations fell through after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat rejected an offer of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem.

Adviser Gilad Sher – who represented Barak at initial Israeli-Palestinian planning meetings in 2000 during which President Clinton discussed the Temple Mount – wrote in his book "Beyond Reach" that Clinton's plan called for the Temple Mount to become Palestinian sovereign territory, while the Western Wall below and its complex would fall under Israeli sovereignty.

Barak was said to have initially rejected that plan, but according to participants at the negotiations summit, he was ultimately willing to place the Mount under international sovereignty.

Israel bars Jews, Christians from praying on Mount

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. Muslims say it is their third holiest site.

The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's "presence" dwelt. The Al Aqsa Mosque now sits on the site.

The Temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays.

The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark where Muslims came to believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven.

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from "a sacred mosque" – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest mosque" and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque later became associated with the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Currently under Israeli control, Jews and Christians are barred from praying on the Mount.

The Temple Mount was opened to the general public until September 2000, when the Palestinians started their intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshipers after then-candidate for prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the area.

Following the onset of violence, the new Sharon government closed the Mount to non-Muslims, using checkpoints to control all pedestrian traffic for fear of further clashes with the Palestinians.

The Temple Mount was reopened to non-Muslims in August 2003. It still is open but only Sundays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and not on any Christian, Jewish or Muslim holidays or other days considered "sensitive" by the Waqf.

During "open" days, Jews and Christian are allowed to ascend the Mount, usually through organized tours and only if they conform first to a strict set of guidelines, which includes demands that they not pray or bring any "holy objects" to the site. Visitors are banned from entering any of the mosques without direct Waqf permission. Rules are enforced by Waqf agents, who watch tours closely and alert nearby Israeli police to any breaking of their guidelines.