Posted on 12/14/2004 12:27:32 PM PST by missyme
The crumbling Temple Mount may be the future event that leads to the war of Gog and Maggog, and/or the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. Stories of the mounts deterioration and unstable walls are becoming more frequent.
JERUSALEM - Israel will renovate the crumbling entrance to a disputed holy site in Jerusalem's Old City that is revered by Jews and Muslims, officials said Monday.
The work will repair a stone ramp leading to a mosque compound. The ramp enables tourists and Jewish worshippers to enter the compound, which is known as Haram a Sharif to Muslims and the Temple Mount to Jews.
The mount is at the heart of the Israeli-Arab conflict. It is revered by Jews as the site of the biblical temples, while it is Islam's third-holiest site and home to the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques.
The ramp leads up from a plaza at the Western Wall, the holiest site to Jews, to the Mughrabi Gate of the compound. Last winter heavy rains caused the ramp to partially collapse onto the women's section at the Wall.
In light of the damage, the current ramp will be removed and a new entrance to the gate built, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Municipality said.
The Waqf, or Islamic Trust, which effectively controls the mosque compound at the site, did not immediately comment on the planned work. Palestinians have in the past reacted with angry riots to even minor changes at the mount.
Israel's Antiquities Authority will be involved in a dig at the site to uncover any artifacts before the new ramp is built, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported Monday. A spokeswoman for the authority did not immediately comment on the report.
Parts of the mount dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries are in major disrepair.
Israel warned in September that an eastern section of the mosque compound could collapse under the weight of thousands of Muslim worshippers expected during a holiday. The Waqf has since completed engineering work in the area to prevent its toppling.
Insh-allah.
Why don't let the Israeli's let it collaspe I wonder?
Wow, never would have guessed that.
The ramp did collapse last year. It is on the Jewish side and it is unstable.
Why do they have to fix the palestinian side? then if it collaspes they will be able to get the Palestinians out of there...
....while it is Islam's third-holiest site
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repeating conventional wisdom without checking the facts alert.
The holiest site is "the place which the L-RD thy G-d shall choose" and that is the mount now covered by Roman/Byzantine construction and Muslim remodeling. This project begins to clear some of the rubble away.
The Western Wall is jusr the closest approach possible to the "holiest site" - "a house of prayer for all nations" - opening (may it be soon) under new management.
jusr = just
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