12 February 2007
In a step to quell Muslim protests, Jerusalem's mayor Uri Lupolianski has announced that allow residents to examine plans for construction of a walkway near Temple Mount and submit objections, a City Hall spokesman has told the "Associated Press". This could delay the project but it would have no effect on preparatory work currently going on outside the site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Israeli archaeologists last week began carrying out an exploratory dig to ensure that no important remains are damaged when the walkway is built. The new walkway would replace an ancient earthen ramp that partially collapsed in a snowstorm three years ago. The project has drawn fierce protests from Palestinians and Arab countries, who accuse Israel of plotting to damage Muslim holy sites. Israel denies the charge, noting the work is about 50 yards away from the complex.
Lupolianski decided to accept public objections to help calm Muslim concerns, his spokesman told AP, adding that the mayor would make the decision public after meeting with Muslim leaders "so that the process will be transparent, and so that it will be entirely clear that there is no attempt to harm any Muslim holy sites." City Hall expects "thousands" of objections, and the decision is likely to delay construction because more hearings will need to be held. Construction was originally scheduled to begin in six months.
The tension over the excavation works reached its peak last Friday, when fierce clashes broke out between Israeli police and Muslim protestors shortly after Friday prayers ended. On Sunday, Israeli security forces were on high alert around the Temple Mount to guard against any possible escalation of violence. Entry to the Temple Mount is currently limited to Muslim men with Israeli identity cards aged 45 and over, and Muslim women of any age. Tourists and Israeli Jews are forbidden to enter the site.
