Temple Mount Defilement by the Wakf Continues

July 6, 2001

(IsraelNationalNews.com) Despite police denials, the continuous destruction and defilement on the Temple Mount by the Moslem Wakf Authority continues without government objections or interference.

The Jerusalem Post reports that officials of the Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities have provided photographic documentation of the most recent acts of destruction. The Post on Friday reported that there is documented evidence of a new staircase, stone cutting and other major changes intended to eradicate any trace of Judaism on the holy site. The illegal Wakf construction has been ongoing since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon assumed office, as was the case during the tenure of Prime Ministers Barak and Netanyahu.

An Internal Security Ministry official commenting to the Post on the report indicated the office was unaware of any illegal construction. Police also deny any ongoing Wakf construction.

Senior archeologists of the Israel Antiquities Authority have documented on several occasions that the wanton destruction was a continuous process. In addition to building and remodeling mosques, the Wakf is trying to eliminate any trace of the First and Second Temples. Archeologists have called the destruction "devastating and unprecedented," adding the Wakf's ongoing actions is undoubtedly the worst archeological destruction endured by the Jewish people since the destruction of the Second Temple. Some have labeled it a "archeological holocaust".

The Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem was home to the First and Second Temples and will serve as host for the Third Temple in the future. In 1967, Israeli paratroopers liberated the Mount along with Jerusalem's Old City from Jordanian occupation. The government at the time decided to permit the Wakf to continue overseeing the day-to-day running of the holy site, a move that has led to the banning of Jews from Judaism's holiest site.

Just this week, a fourth petition to the High Court of Justice was rejected. Petitioners were seeking to be permitted to go onto the Mount and pray. Police opposed the request, telling the court that such a move may result in widespread Moslem violence that could have a ripple effect that would spread to the international Moslem community. The court once again accepted the state's position and voted to deny Jews entry to the Mount.

Proponents of Jewish prayer on the Mount add that it is beyond belief that in the Jewish homeland, Jews do not enjoy freedom of worship on Judaism's holiest location.

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