Temple Mount News

[Faithin1]

Amen!  No man can manipulate God.

[Shammu]

Occupation of Al-Aqsa Mosque a disaster, Muslim cleric says

Sheikh Raed Salah says during Islamic Movement rally, ‘Arab world must declare state of emergency due to occupation of east Jerusalem holy site, just as any nation does during times of disaster’

Roee Nahmias
Published:    04.07.07, 10:14 / Israel News

“The biggest disaster ever inflicted on the Muslim nation is the occupation of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement Northern Branch, said Friday.

Salah, who spoke during an Islamic Movement rally marking the birth of prophet Mohammad, said the entire Arab, Muslim and Palestinian world “must declare a state of emergency, just as any nation does during times of disaster.”

“Israel’s policy and security forces will never hinder our ability to protect Al-Aqsa,” he added.

Salah is currently being investigated, as per an order by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, under suspicion of inciting violence, racism, and rebellion.

The investigation began following Salah’s remarks during a protest held in Nazareth in February, as well as remarks made a week prior at the Temple Mount, regarding the Mugrabi Gate dig near.

Kamal Hatib, vice-chairman of the Islamic Movement, said during the event that, “Humanity has reached a high level of advancement in science and technology, but it is collapsing under the burden of materialism and temptation.

“Humanity needs the Islamic nation to deal with these flaws and rescue it from the calamities these temptations bring about,” he said.

Some 25,000 people attended the rally, which was held at a soccer stadium in Kfar Qana.

During his weekly sermon at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, the former Palestinian mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Akrama Sabri, criticized recent attempts by Israeli right-wing activists to visit the Temple Mount.

“The processions and break-in attempts carried out by the Zionist settlers at Al-Aqsa will end badly,” the sheikh said.

Occupation of Al-Aqsa Mosque a disaster, Muslim cleric says

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Dome of the Rock: Target of Muslim Extremists?
by Emanuel A. Winston

Collapsing the Dome and Al-Aksa may trigger a war.

Concern has been raised in Israel that Islamic terrorists such as Hamas or Al-Qaeda may target the Muslim shrine of the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aksa Mosque, both of which sit atop the site of the Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The Islamic terrorists would then blame Israel to arouse Muslim anger, in order to trigger a war in the Middle East. The subsequent loss of Muslim lives is of little concern to them. On the contrary, they even think this is the best way to get their fellow Muslims into their paradise, by making them shuhada (plural of ubgone19, martyr for Islam). We have already seen Shiite and Sunni Muslims target each others' mosques for demolition, and that both use their so-called "shrines" for the storage of weapons, explosives and safe houses for their terrorists. They do, however, expect Americans and Israelis to respect the self-proclaimed sanctity of their mosques and shrines.

Suspicions were raised in light of the frenzied reaction to Israel repairing a crumbling, earthquake-damaged earthen ramp that leads up to the site of the Temple Mount. Muslim leaders tried to assert that the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aksa Mosque were endangered by these repair measures - a rather ridiculous claim. It was also thought that Muslim terrorists were planning to collapse the shaky ramp on top of Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall. They may have intended to use this excuse to permanently close the Mughrabi Gate (the only gate up to the Mount open to non-Muslims) to the Temple Mount so no infidels (non-Muslims) could enter.

In this light, it is clear why Muslim leaders always opposed any infrastructure improvements in the area. With an anarchist agenda, they want people to get hurt and
It is clear why Muslim leaders always opposed any infrastructure improvements in the area.
are happy to help the process along if it benefits their religious war against the Jews, Christians and all other non-Muslim infidels whom they must kill.

In fact, the Muslim Wakf (religious administrative authority) has been carrying out secret excavations under the Temple Mount, to invent and reinforce their own religious claims while disposing of all Jewish artifacts - some from the First and Second Temple periods.

Israeli engineers warned the Wakf that they were weakening the supporting walls of the Temple Mount, including those of the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aksa Mosque. A dangerous bulge was spotted on a major retaining wall of the Temple Mount. Yet, the Wakf has continued to undermine the foundations until today.

A moderately small earthquake in February 11, 2004, coupled with the effects of a major snowfall, damaged the Mughrabi Gate ramp leading up to the Temple Mount. Even a small earthquake could completely collapse the ancient stone walls. Many earthquakes have hit this region, which lies on a major fault along the Jordan River, called the Dead Sea Rift, running the length of Israel and creating a series of active faults throughout the country. The area underlying the entire region is a series of major and minor faults under constant pressure to slip or crack, producing major and minor temblors. (If you wish to explore this further, then pull up the words "earthquake," "2004," "damage to Mughrabi ramp to Temple Mount" on Google.)

Even a small temblor could collapse the wall of Solomon’s Temple Mount now that the Muslim Wakf has dug out the core of the Mount. It is merely an event waiting to happen. The other possibility is that Muslim Arab terrorists might be preparing to place high explosives on the remaining supports that hold up the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aksa Mosque.

Time will tell.

Dome of the Rock: Target of Muslim Extremists?

[Shammu]

Salah Plans Mass Muslim Gatherings on Temple Mount

(IsraelNN.com) Sheikh Raad Salah, the head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, said Thursday that he is planning to ensure that thousands of Muslims will arrive in Jerusalem’s Old City every day to pray in the Al-Aksa mosque, located on the Temple Mount. Salah said he has been talking with local clan leaders, and convincing them to take turns bringing their entire extended families to the mosque.

Salah also reported that he plans to close down Jerusalem mosques on Friday, the Muslim day of rest, in order to force all those who wish to take part in group prayers to travel to the Al-Aksa mosque. He has talked to Muslim leaders in other parts of Israel, he said, asking them to tell their followers to visit the mosque in order to demonstrate a strong Muslim presence there.

The Islamic Movement is a branch of the international Muslim Brotherhood, as is Hamas. Group members call Salah the leader of the “1948 branch,” referring to those Muslims who have been in Israel since the founding of the modern Jewish state in 1948.

Salah Plans Mass Muslim Gatherings on Temple Mount

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Dozens of rabbis ascend Temple Mount in unprecedented visit
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent

Dozens of rabbis from the national Zionist camp visited the Temple Mount on Sunday in order to increase awareness and emphasize Jewish linkage to the site.

A few days ago, the rabbis had released an announcement permitting Jews to enter the Temple Mount.

Sunday's visit marks the first time such a large group of rabbis, including the head rabbi of the Yesha Council Rabbi Dov Lior, Ma'ale Adumim Yeshiva head Rabbi Nahum Rabinowitz, and Rabbi Daniel Shaleh, have visited Temple Mount together.

Last weekend, the religious media published a notice signed by Bnei Akiva Yehiva head Rabbi Chaim Druckman, his colleague Rabbi Avraham Zuckerman, and Kiryat Shmona Chief Rabbi Tzfania Drori. The rabbis called on "the entire holy public to ascend the Temple Mount in purity ... to arrive in coming days to the allowed sites near the entrance to the Temple Mount."

By publishing the announcement, rabbis Druckman, Zuckerman, and Drori joined dozens of other rabbis from the national Zionist camp who have recently decided to permit Jewish entry into the Temple Mount, subject to halakhic (Jewish law) restrictions.

Allowing the entry is a clear deviation from the general halakhic rabbinical consensus, including both from the ultra-Orthodox camp and the national Zionist camp, which maintains that Jewish entry to the site is forbidden.

The accepted explanation for the entrance ban throughout the years was that the exact location of the temples and the Holy of Holies is unknown, meaning Jews could unknowingly set foot in forbidden areas.

Another central explanation maintained that by allowing a general entrance, the general public would arrive at the site, and could set foot in the forbidden areas as well.

Dozens of rabbis ascend Temple Mount in unprecedented visit

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More on this story..........
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Increasing number of rabbis are allowing Jews to enter Temple Mount
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent

An increasing number of religious Zionist rabbis are allowing their followers to enter the Temple Mount, contrary to the religious consensus on the matter.

This weekend, the rabbis Haim Druckman and Avraham Zukerman, of the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and Tzafania Drori, chief rabbi of Kiryat Shmona, are set to join this growing group with an ad in the Orthodox media. The rabbis, who are major figures in the religious Zionist movement, will call on Jews wishing to enter the Temple Mount "in purity, to ascend at this time to the to the places permitted for Jews to enter."

The three rabbis are known for their principle support for letting Jews on to the Temple Mount. But they had not yet expressed their stand formally, because of the religious sensitivity of the issue. Now, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem's unification, with many right-wing movements placing the Temple Mount on their agenda, the rabbis have decided to call publicly on Jews to go to the Mount.

In publishing the ad, they will be joining dozens of other rabbis of the religious Zionist stream, among them rabbis in West Bank settlements, who in recent years have allowed Jews to go to the Temple Mount within the bounds of Jewish law.

Currently, rabbinic consensus in the religious Zionist and the ultra-Orthodox world prohibits Jews from entering the Temple Mount. This is because the exact location of the Holy of Holies is not known, and therefore Jews who have not properly purified themselves may accidentally walk there or through other prohibited places.

Rabbis who allow their supporters to ascend to the Temple Mount set stipulations for entry, including the mandating of ritual immersion beforehand, the wearing of cloth shoes, the keeping to areas permitted to Jews under Jewish custom, and the studying of relevant religious regulations.

There are two Islamic shrines on the Mount, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

Over the years, successive Israeli governments, backed by the High Court of Justice, have allowed Jews to visit the Temple Mount, but have prohibited them from praying there.

The policy was set 40 years ago by then-defense minister Moshe Dayan. Dayan argued that the national and territorial dimension of the Arab-Israeli conflict should be separated from the religious dimension, and for this reason Jewish prayer and ritual should be prohibited on the Mount. At the same time, it was decided that ultimate responsibility for security on and around the Temple Mount would be in the hands of Israel, while religious and administrative autonomy at the Temple Mount would be under the Waqf (the Muslim religious authorities), a situation that prevails to this day.

Increasing number of rabbis are allowing Jews to enter Temple Mount

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Hamas' plans to take over Temple Mount foiled 
Seen as 'strategic' move to bolster standing throughout the Muslim world

Hamas's attempts to take over control of the Temple Mount as well as spread its ideology and recruit new members in Jerusalem have been foiled by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), a senior security official announced Monday.

According to officials, Hamas has invested millions of shekels in recent years in Jerusalem charities and religious institutions, as well as in construction on the Temple Mount, in an effort to recruit Israeli Arab residents of Jerusalem into its ranks, thus bolstering its presence in the capital.

The official said that Hamas has recently enlarged a library and several prayer halls in Solomon's Stables and also built a public bathroom facility.

"Their goal is to gain full control over the Temple Mount," a high-ranking security officer said Monday, adding that Hamas also tried to infiltrate members into the Temple Mount as maintenance staff, in addition to its religious leaders who preach, give tours, and teach Koran classes there.

The official said Hamas had taken advantage of the Jordanian Wakf, which is responsible for the holy site. The Wakf has been suffering from financial constraints since 2000, when the Temple Mount mosques were closed to visitors.

Officials said the Hamas takeover of the Temple Mount was a "strategic" move to bolster its standing in the Palestinian territories and throughout the Muslim world.

During a year-long operation, Shin Bet arrested 11 Hamas officials based in Jerusalem, 10 of whom are Israeli identity cards holders.

Hamas's Jerusalem headquarters were funded by Hamas headquarters in Syria, as well as a chain of charity institutions based in Saudi Arabia. In addition to Hamas's efforts to take over the Temple Mount, the movement increased in recent years its activity in east Jerusalem, where it had set up religious institutions and used what seemed to be innocent festivities to "brainwash" Muslims with Hamas ideology.

In order to implement its goals, Hams had also set up a number of institutions of a semi-religious nature to front illegal activities. According to officials, there are no Hamas institutions currently active in Jerusalem.

The Shin Bet also focused its operations in curbing the flow of money into Hamas. A senior Hamas official, Yakub Abu Assab, was arrested for allegedly running a courier service that transferred funds from the West Bank and abroad to the Hamas headquarters in Jerusalem.

Israeli efforts to stop Hamas also included the arrests of Hamas parliamentarians, including Khaled Abu Afa, former Hamas minister for Jerusalem affairs.

All 11 detainees were due to be indicted for membership in a terror group and financing illegal terror activity.

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Jordan secretly buying land accessing Temple Mount
Kingdom said to be solidifying control of Judaism's holiest site


JERUSALEM – Jordan has been quietly purchasing real estate surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in the hope of gaining more control over the area accessing the holy site, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials.

Israel's Maariv daily newspaper reported a member of the Jordanian royal family has been leading efforts to purchase properties near the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – as part of the kingdom's plan to solidify its already strong presence there.

The Maariv story was first reported by WND four months ago in an exclusive report revealing Jordan has used shell companies during the past year to purchase several apartments and shops located at key peripheral sections of the Temple Mount.

Israeli and Palestinian officials told WND Jordan also set up a commission to use the shell companies to petition mostly Arab landowners adjacent to eastern sections of the Temple Mount to sell their properties. They said profits from sales at any purchased shops would be reinvested to buy more real estate near the Mount and in eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods.

The Jordanian shell companies at times have presented themselves as acting on behalf of the Waqf, the Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount, WND has learned.

Sheik Azzam Khateeb, who was installed in February as the new manager of the Waqf, is known to be close to the Jordanian monarchy. The previous Waqf manager, Sheik Adnon Husseini, was loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and had relations with Israel and some Jewish groups.

"Khateeb answers directly to Jordan," a Fatah official told WND.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said Jordan recently placed a bid to purchase Jerusalem's Intercontinental Hotel, which is situated on an important road that leads to an ancient cemetery on the Mount of Olives, adjacent to the Temple Mount. Informed sources tell WND the hotel is owned by groups representing the Israeli government and is leased every 10 years to a new company. The last lease was signed in 1997 and expires later this year. It was not immediately clear whether Jordan's bid was accepted.

The Mount of Olives is the site of many biblical events and is considered important to Judaism and Christianity.

Real estate ownership in Jerusalem's Old City is widely considered a sensitive matter. Previous Israeli-Palestinian peace proposals tentatively divided parts of the city based on Jewish or Arab residence.

Jordan previously controlled eastern Jerusalem and the Temple Mount from 1948 until Israel liberated the territory in the 1967 Six-Day War. During the period of Jordanian control, Jews were barred from the Western Wall and Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest sites, and hundreds of synagogues were destroyed. Jordan constructed a road to the Intercontinental Hotel that stretched across the Mount of Olives, bulldozing hundreds of Jewish gravestones.

Jordan the past few months has boosted its public profile on the Temple Mount.

The appointment of Khateeb as the new Waqf manager for the Temple Mount was widely seen as a nod to Jordan.

In January, Israel granted Jordan permission to replace the main podium in the Al Aqsa Mosque from which Islamic preachers deliver their sermons. The podium is considered one of the most important stands in the Muslim world. Muslims believe it marks the "exact spot" their prophet Muhammad went up to heaven to receive revelations from Allah.

The new stand bears the emblem of the Jordanian kingdom. It replaces a 1,000-year-old podium believed to have been shipped to Jerusalem by the Islamic conqueror Saladin. That stand was destroyed in 1969, when an Australian tourist set fire to the Al Aqsa Mosque.

In February, WND first reported Prime Minister Ehud Olmert granted permission to Jordan to construct a large minaret at a site on the Temple Mount where Jewish groups here had petitioned to build a synagogue. According to Israeli diplomatic sources, an announcement on the minaret has been stalled.

A minaret is a tower usually attached to a mosque from which Muslims are called to the five Islamic daily prayers.

There are four minarets on the Temple Mount. The new minaret will be the largest one yet. It will be the first built on the Temple Mount in more than 600 years and is slated to tower over the walls of Jerusalem's Old City. It will reside next to the Al-Marwani Mosque, located at the site of Solomon's Stables.

A top leader of the Waqf told WND Olmert's granting of permission to build the minaret in the synagogue's place "confirms 100 percent the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) belongs to Muslims."

"This proves Jewish conspiracies for a synagogue will never succeed and solidifies our presence here. It will make Muslims worldwide more secure that the Jews will never take over the Haram al-Sharif," the Waqf official said.

Hamas plans for Temple Mount takeover thwarted

The reports of Jordan gaining Temple Mount control come as Israeli security officials revealed yesterday they foiled a Hamas plan to take control of the Temple Mount and spread the terror group's ideology and recruit new members in Jerusalem.

During a year-long operation, Israel's Shin Bet Security Services revealed it arrested 11 Hamas officials based in Jerusalem, 10 of whom are Israeli identity cards holders.

Hamas's Jerusalem headquarters were reportedly funded by Hamas headquarters in Syria, as well as a chain of charity institutions based in Saudi Arabia.

Shin Bet officials said Hamas invested large sums of money in construction on the Temple Mount, including the building of a public bathroom facility and enlargement of a library and several prayer halls in a massive mosque that was built in a southeast Mount area known as Solomon's Stables. The area had been called Solomon's Stables since Crusader times, when it was used by the Crusaders as horse stables.

"[Hamas'] goal is to gain full control over the Temple Mount," a high-ranking security officer told the Jerusalem Post yesterday, adding Hamas also tried to infiltrate its members into the Temple Mount as maintenance staff, in addition to its religious leaders who preach, give tours and teach Quran classes there.

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Olmert allows Muslims
to dig on Temple Mount 
During last excavations Islamic custodians destroyed
truckloads of artifacts tying Judaism to its holiest site

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has quietly granted the Waqf – the Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount – permission to dig unsupervised on the sacred site, WND has learned.

The permission was granted in spite of longstanding fears from leading Israeli archeologists the Waqf might hide or dispose of Jewish Temple artifacts discovered during any Muslim digs.

The last time the Waqf conducted an unsupervised excavation on the Temple Mount, in 1997, the Muslim custodians ultimately were caught by Israeli authorities disposing truckloads of Mount dirt that contained Jewish Temple artifacts.

Most Palestinian leaders routinely deny well-documented Jewish ties to the Temple Mount – the holiest site in Judaism.

According to Palestinian sources, the Waqf last month requested permission from Israel to conduct what it said were needed excavations under the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount to install new electrical and telephone infrastructures in the mosque. Olmert's office at first turned down the Waqf request, but after petitioning by the Jordanian government, the prime minister acquiesced and has allowed the dig.

The Waqf this week quietly began digging a massive tunnel that snakes from the Al Aqsa Mosque to the nearby Dome of the Rock, bringing in heavy equipment for the work.

According to Israeli and Palestinian sources, the dig is not being supervised by any Jewish archeologist, including from the Israeli government's Antiquities Authority, which boasts a board of leading Israeli Temple Mount archeological authorities.

No supervision

Prominent Temple Mount archeologist Eilat Mazar, a professor of Hebrew University and a member of the Public Committee for Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on Temple Mount, slammed the Waqf dig.

Mazar said she was concerned the Muslims were excavating "without real, professional and careful archaeological supervision involving meticulous documentation."

Mazar, a third-generation Israeli Temple Mount archaeologist, is the discoverer and lead archaeologist of Israel's City of David, believed to be the palace of the biblical King David, the second leader of a united Kingdom of Israel, who ruled from around 1005 to 965 B.C.

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 the media reported on the disposals, Israeli authorities froze the construction permit given to the Wafq, and the dirt was transferred to Israeli archeologists 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'

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 archeological 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 over 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. 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 state the Jewish Temples never existed.

'We are fed up with this crap nonsense'

In a series of WND exclusive interviews, Palestinian terror leaders denied the existence of the Jewish Temples.

"We are fed up with this crap nonsense of the Temple Mount," said Nasser Abu Aziz, the deputy commander of Fata's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the northern West Bank.

"We do not know where this story came from. There is no historical or archeological proof that your legendary Temples existed. We are sick of this story. But Allah warned us that Jews will look for an excuse in order to corrupt life on earth, so we are not surprised from the fact that you keep raising this issue."

Muhammad Abdul-El, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees terror organization, said the Jewish Temples "existed only in your dreams.

"Go look for your stupid Temple elsewhere. And I am not saying this for political reasons. I say that the enemy invented this story in order to justify its occupation of Jerusalem."

Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' so-called military wing, accused all Jews of being pathological liars.

"Stop lying and believing your own lies. Even if there was such a thing (as a Jewish Temple) do you really believe that Solomon, who was a prophet, would have built a Temple in the place that Allah wanted for the Al Aqsa Mosque?"

Judaism's holiest site

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 Mohammed 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.

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Jerusalem panel approves alternate plan for Mughrabi Bridge

Jerusalem's Planning and Construction Committee approved Thursday an alternative plan to the controversial Mughrabi Bridge project.

The original plan for the bridge, which leads from the Old City's Dung Gate and the Western Wall to the Temple Mount's Mughrabi Gate, raised hackles in the Arab world when it was presented in February, due to allegations that it would damage the Temple Mount. Some archaeologists and architects also expressed concern that the bridge would damage antiquities or block the view of the Temple Mount.

The bridge will consist of a wooden walkway bordered by metal, with two-meter-high iron railings, as required by the police. The number of pylons supporting it will be reduced from seven to four. The height of the pylons will not exceed half a meter, and they will be placed on platforms in spaces excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority during its salvage dig, allowing the antiquities to be restored and protected. The planners mapped the archaeological finds along the bridge's path and found spaces in which the pylons could be placed without damaging the antiquities.

However, although the general route of the bridge is known, the municipality still does not know how it will look. Architect Ada Carmi has been asked to prepare a simulation of the bridge, but its design is expected to undergo subsequent changes.

The bridge will not only be used by visitors coming to the Temple Mount, but also by the police, to send in large forces in case of unrest on the mount, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located.

The municipality and the Interior Ministry are now preparing to deal with the project's major opponents: Israeli Arabs, East Jerusalem residents and the Arab world.

The original plan, which received expedited approval from the city authorities without being presented to the public, was frozen by Mayor Uri Lupolianski in order to allow the Arab public to submit its objections in an orderly fashion to the Planning and Construction Committee. Lupolianski said he believed the previous opposition to the plan was because of lack of knowledge about it, and that public discussion would persuade the Muslim public that the bridge's construction will not damage or annex areas of the Temple Mount.

The United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) is expected to attempt to mediate between Israelis and Palestinians so that an agreement can be reached to allow the bridge's construction. A UNESCO committee visited Israel a few months ago to hear the various arguments against the project.

[Soldier4Christ]

Israel to give up Temple Mount?
Palestinians say no agreement unless Olmert forfeits holiest site in Judaism

Palestinian negotiators drafting an agreement behind the scenes with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office have made clear they will not accept any final peace deal with Israel unless the Jewish state forfeits the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site, WND has learned.

According to a report in Israel's Yediot Aharonot daily yesterday, Olmert is willing to discuss joint Israeli-Palestinian control over the Temple Mount complex. The report didn't state the positions of the Palestinian side on the issue.

A chief Palestinian negotiator, speaking to WND on condition his name be withheld, said yesterday, "there can be no agreement with Israel unless we get complete sovereignty of the Mount. Once Palestinian control over the [Temple Mount] is fixed, then we will make assurances for Jewish visits to the site."

The chief negotiator said aides from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization have been hammering out the parameters of a final status agreement for presentation in November at a U.S.-backed international summit regarding the Middle East.

Issues already discussed between Israel and the Palestinians reportedly include the division of parts of Jerusalem and debates regarding permanent borders between Israel and the PA.

The November international conference and talk from the Bush administration the past few weeks has led many here to speculate the U.S. will push in the near future for intense Israeli-Palestinian negotiations leading to a Palestinian state.

With a year and a half left in office, President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have been urging meetings between Abbas and Olmert to establish a framework for momentum leading to a breakthrough at November's conference. Olmert and Abbas have been meeting bi-monthly in summits brokered by the U.S.

Asked by WND whether Olmert is willing to forfeit the Temple Mount in an agreement with the Palestinians, David Baker, a spokesman for the prime minister, had no comment.

Jews, Christians barred 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 Mohammed 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.

'Secret' plan would give Palestinians West Bank

The talk of behind-the-scenes negotiations follows a WND report earlier this week stating newly installed Israeli President Shimon Peres has quietly drafted a plan for the Jewish state to evacuate and transfer to the Palestinians nearly the entire West Bank and several Arab Israeli cities located within territory that is undisputedly Israel's according to the international community.

The West Bank is strategic territory that runs alongside Jerusalem and is within rocket range of Tel Aviv and Israel's international airport. It is home to many biblical Jewish communities and some of Judaism's holiest sites.

Peres has presented his initiative to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and to top aides for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas the past few weeks, after he took office as Israeli president last month, diplomatic sources in Jerusalem told WND.

The official role of president here is limited largely to ceremonial matters; the president does not create foreign policy.

Olmert is mulling over the plan and agrees with much of its contents, the diplomatic sources said.

Peres' plan calls for Israel to hand 97-percent of the West Bank over to Abbas, with Israel retaining a small number of the territory's Jewish communities. In exchange for Israel keeping some land, the Jewish state will give the PA control of Arab Israeli cities north of Tel Aviv which, together with the evacuated West Bank territory, would amount to the equivalent of 100 percent of the West Bank.

Already during his bi-weekly meetings with Abbas, Olmert has granted a number of security concessions to Abbas regarding increased Palestinian control of the West Bank.

The Israeli prime minister last month granted amnesty to 178 gunmen from Abbas' Fatah organization who comprise most of the senior leadership of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the declared military wing of Fatah that is responsible for every suicide bombing in Israel the past three years.

Olmert is reportedly considering granting amnesty to 206 more Brigades terrorists. According to Palestinian officials, the Israeli Prime Minister already informed the PA that Fatah gunmen are largely immune from Israeli anti-terror raids regardless of whether they are officially on Olmert's amnesty list.

Also, Olmert is strongly considering removing hundreds of Israel Defense Forces roadblocks and checkpoints situated in strategic sites located throughout the West Bank. The IDF sees the checkpoints as crucial in helping stop terrorists, including suicide bombers, from infiltrating Jewish cities.

As well, in a scantily-reported but major move, Israel last week started allowing armed Palestinian policemen to patrol areas in the West Bank that fall under Israeli security control according to the 1993 Oslo Accords. Security in the territory, referred to as Area B, is supposed to be ensured by the IDF, which still monitors the area but has allowed for an unprecedented stepped-up armed Palestinian security presence there.

In response to the renewed momentum toward a Palestinian state, rabbis for the Yesha Council of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria – the West Bank – yesterday slammed the Israeli government for considering major concessions.

The council released a statement expressing "concern at the irresponsible diplomatic moves being made during these days, the main point of which is the consent to the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria. These moves are founded upon irrelevant considerations of political survival, and are being made in total opposition to the opinion of the defense establishment."

[Shammu]

Olmert, Arabs Negotiating Over Temple Mount
 
by Gil Ronen

(IsraelNN.com) Arab representatives who are negotiating an agreement with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office have made it clear that they will not accept any final peace deal with Israel unless the Jewish State forfeits the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.

According to a report in the daily newspaper Yediot Acharonot, Olmert is willing to discuss joint Israeli-Arab control over the Temple Mount compound.

A chief Arab negotiator told WorldNetDaily's Aaron Klein that "there can be no agreement with Israel unless we get complete sovereignty of the Mount. Once Palestinian control over the [Temple Mount] is fixed, then we will make assurances for Jewish visits to the site."

The chief negotiator said aides from Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization have been working out the details of a "final status" agreement, which they intend to present in November at a U.S.-sponsored international summit on the Middle East.

Besides the Temple Mount, other issues on the table reportedly include the division of united Jerusalem and permanent borders between Israel and the PA.

With a year and a half left in office, US President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have been urging Abbas and Olmert to meet regularly in the hope of creating a dynamic that will lead to a breakthrough at November's conference.

Asked whether Olmert is willing to forfeit the Temple Mount in an agreement with the Palestinians, David Baker, a spokesman for the prime minister, had no comment.

'Secret' plan would give Judea and Samaria to Arabs

Last week saw the publication of reports that newly-installed President Shimon Peres has quietly drafted a plan for the Jewish State to evacuate and transfer to the PA nearly the entire area of Judea and Samaria, along with several Arab-Israeli cities located within pre-1967 Israel.

Peres presented his initiative to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and to top Abbas aides soon after he took office as President last month.

Olmert is said to be considering the plan and he "agrees with much of its contents," diplomatic sources said.

President Peres, Israel's most veteran politician, has a long history of covert deal-making. His arch-rival in the Labor party, former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, famously called Peres "an indefatigable subversive" in his autobiography. Peres received the Nobel Prize for a deal he and others worked out with arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat in 1993 – the Oslo Accords – which led to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority and an ongoing terror war in which thousands of Israelis, including a high proportion of women and children, have been killed or maimed.

Olmert, Arabs Negotiating Over Temple Mount

[Shammu]

Satan continues to push his agenda in trying to takes God's prize possession off Him.

I guess satan hasn't read the end of the Bible yet.

[Soldier4Christ]

Islamists Plan World Revolution from Temple Mount
 

One of the radical groups operating on the Temple Mount is Hizab Altahrir (The Islamic Liberation Party), which espouses an ideology similar to Al Qaeda. Hizab Altahrir’s network spans most Western European countries. The party puts Islamic revolution and an uncompromising form of Jihad (holly war) at the top of its political agenda.

The group advocates subjecting the entire world to Islamic law (Shariya), and destroying non-believing nations and religions.

The party has targeted Europe, specifically Denmark, for spreading its ideology, and providing a springboard for renewing Islamic conquests in Europe. A senior party activist in Jerusalem, Sheikh Issam Amira, expressed this philosophy in a recent speech which he made on the Temple Mount:

“Listeners! The Moslems in Denmark make up three percent [of the population], yet constitute a threat to the future of the Danish kingdom. It’s no surprise that in Bitrab (the ancient name of Medina, a city in Arabia to which Mohammed immigrated) they were fewer than three percent of the general population, but succeeded changing the regime in Bitrab.

“It’s no surprise that our brothers in Denmark have succeeded in bringing Islam to every home in that country. Allah will grant us victory in their land to establish the [Islamic] revolution in Denmark.”

After Denmark, the Sheikh said, the party will carry the revolution to Oslo and change its name to Medina. “They will fight against their Scandinavian neighbors in order to bring the country into the territory of the revolution,” he said. “In the next stage, they will fight a holy jihad to spread Islam to the rest of Europe, until it spreads to the original city of Medina where the two cities will unite under the Islamic flag.”

Sheikh Riyad Salah, head of the Islamic movement in Israel has also been active teaching the tenets of “Islamic revolution.”

“We are at the gates of the Islamic revolution,” he proclaims in his sermons to Arab citizens of Israel. “The global forces of evil will be eliminated from the world and the Islamic nation will remain in place in order to bring about the world Islamic revolution, with its capital, Jerusalem.”

Salah, who until a few months ago was under arrest for allegedly assisting an organization connected to the Hamas terror group, has for a number of years been attempting to organize Israel’s Arab citizens into an “independent Palestinian society,” disconnected from the State of Israel and its institutions.

Salah’s organization contributed to efforts to repair Arab mosques on the Temple Mount, and also attempts to erase the remains of Jewish antiquities on the Mount.

In Israel, the Hizab Altahrir party is sending out charismatic Islamic preachers to spread its ideology to mosques in villages near Jerusalem, Hevron, Kalkilya, and Tulkarem.

When large numbers of Moslems visited mosques last October during the holy month of Ramadan, the party expanded its efforts to recruit new members and activists in the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Thousands of young Arabs living in the PA have been participating in the party’s youth movement under the slogan, “Campaigning to Preach Revolution.”

On the Temple Mount near the Dome of the Rock, Altahrir’s youth recently put up a giant banner declaring “Revolution is a Divine Command.” The party’s flag appears on the right and left hand side of the banner. The youth were greeted by party members who shouted, “Next year in Jerusalem, under the rule of the Islamic revolution.”

[Shammu]

“The global forces of evil will be eliminated from the world and the Islamic nation will remain in place in order to bring about the world Islamic revolution, with its capital, Jerusalem.”

Want to make a bet there Sheikh Riyad Salah??

I've read the Bible, Christ wins!!

Altahrir’s youth recently put up a giant banner declaring “Revolution is a Divine Command.”

Revolution is a bunch of thugs from islam.  There turn is coming, and it won't be pretty!!