05533
Oct. 4, 2005   

Officials fear Temple Mount dig
could spark Jewish-Muslim violence 

by Michele Green
Ecumenical News International

JERUSALEM — Ancient relics have been discovered in an underground tunnel near a disputed holy site in Jerusalem.

     Officials fear that their find may upset Palestinians, who rioted almost a decade ago after another part of the same site was opened.

     The archaeological items were found in an ancient tunnel adjacent to the Temple Mount, a complex known as al‑Haram al‑Sharif to Muslims. It is holy to both Muslims and Jews. The Muslim trust that manages the shrine, which includes the al‑Aqsa mosque, has long complained about Israeli archaeological digs near the site, which Israel captured in the 1967 Arab‑Israeli war. 

     The latest finds, unveiled by archaeologists on Sept. 27, include a Jewish ritual bath dating from the time of King Herod’s Temple, about 2,000 years ago, and a wall believed to date from the period of King Solomon’s temple, which was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. 

     The archaeological digs were sponsored by the Elad association, an ultra-nationalist Jewish group that stakes Jewish claims to Muslim property in East Jerusalem. The tunnel is under Jerusalem's Old City; it starts near the Western Wall — part of Herod’s temple — and ends in the Muslim Quarter. 

     “We don’t have anything against archaeology, because stones won’t do anything to you,” said Abd Shlode, an Arab resident of East Jerusalem who is active in civic affairs. “What we are opposed to is the issuing of demolition orders forcing us out of our homes after an excavation has begun.” 

     The opening of the main tunnel in 1996 sparked widespread Palestinian rioting and gun battles between Palestinian security forces and Israeli soldiers. Eighty people were killed. The riots were fuelled by rumors that the tunnels were part of a plot to destabilize or blow up the al‑Aqsa mosque.