09 February 2007
Israel's Antiquities Authority is considering broadcasting real-time, around-the-clock video from a contentious Jerusalem holy site in a bid to allay Muslim fears the shrine will be harmed by recently launched repair work, an authority spokeswoman has announced. Israel says it needs to replace a centuries-old earthen ramp leading to the hilltop compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, which was damaged heavily in a 2004 snowstorm. It has promised the work would cause no harm to Islamic shrines at the site, some 60 meters away, but those assurances have not calmed Muslim outrage over the project. Lawmaker Israel Hasson said he proposed installing cameras at the site so "all the Arab world would be able to see everything that goes on there."
The Antiquities Authority said it was looking into how much the webcast would cost. "The Antiquities Authority is looking into the possibility of installing internet cameras ... to show that we are working with full transparency, and to show that we are not digging – not under Temple Mount, not on the way to Temple Mount and far from Temple Mount." The eight-month construction project has provoked small-scale protests since it began on Tuesday.
On Thursday, hundreds of Arab protesters from across Israel briefly blocked an entrance to the Old City in protest against the excavations taking place near the gate. "We oppose the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque," one protester told the news service "Ynet", adding: "It hurts Muslim pride, the world, and Israel. The works could cause the situation in the whole region to deteriorate and even intensify the Intifada." The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, armed wing of the Palestinian Fatah movement, has threatened to attack synagogues if the excavations continue. The Arab Knesset members Mohammad Barakeh (Hadash) and Azmi Bishara (National Democratic Assembly) said they would submit a motion of no-confidence in the government due to the excavations.
