| THE MOST EXPLOSIVE REAL ESTATE IN THE WORLD: JEWS ARE ONCE AGAIN VISITING THE HOLIEST SITE IN JUDAISM, THE TEMPLE MOUNT IN JERUSALEM by Joseph Farah, Editor of WorldNetDaily, July 1, 2003 http://www.wnd.com |
| The Temple Mount is the area that served as the foundation for the First and Second Temples. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The temples were the centers of Jewish worship in ancient Israel. Tradition places Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac on this hill. For Christians, this is where Jesus walked and preached. About two weeks ago, Israeli Interior Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi announced that Jews would soon be allowed on the Temple Mount, "even if no agreement is reached with the Waqf." The Waqf is the Muslim Religious Trust, a group of Islamic clerics appointed to administer the site by the Palestinian Authority's Yasser Arafat. Although preparations for visits by non-Muslims to the Temple Mount were being made for several days, Waqf Director Adnan Husseini heard for the first time only yesterday that Israeli police were actually bringing in visitors to what has been described as the most explosive piece of real estate in the world. Husseini called the decision a grave violation of trust by Israel. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reportedly expressed skepticism about the plan to renew Temple visitations by non-Muslims. In the fall of 2000, Sharon visited the site, an event some cite as the catalyst for the outbreak of the intifada, or uprising. The Temple Mount was subsequently closed to Jews and Christians. According to Haaretz, police officers didn't wait for an agreement to be worked out with the Waqf. Instead, officers stationed at the Western Wall began, in the last few days, to escort groups of tourists on visits to the grounds of the mosques at the site. The commander of the police station at the Western Wall, Officer Yossi Ben Haim, even approached tourists in the Old City and lobbied them to join the organized visit to the sensitive site, according to the Israeli newspaper. THE ISLAMICIZATION OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT - (WorldNetDaily, 7/1/03) For decades, Muslims have contended, despite the historical and archaeological evidence, that there is no Jewish connection to the Temple Mount. They contend the Temple never existed on this site or anywhere else in what they call "Palestine." When the Temple Mount was under Arab control, Jews were not even permitted to pray outside the Western Wall. But since the Israelis took over the Temple Mount in 1967, they have permitted the Muslims to administer to the holiest site in Judaism. During this period, the Waqf has presided over a little known, but nevertheless extensive, "renovation" program at the Temple Mount. A new mosque has been built under the southeast corner. Additional exits have been cut through the Temple Mount walls. All supervision of this extraordinary, unprecedented effort has been denied. The Muslims have ripped physical evidence of the Temple from the Mount and mixed it with debris and garbage in various dumps around Jerusalem, most notably the Kidron Valley. Meanwhile, recent surveys show the Muslim construction projects have left the southern wall of the Temple Mount near collapse. Observers have dreaded what might happen if the southern wall actually did fail. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Muslim worshippers might be killed. If such a calamity occurred, it would most assuredly, in the current enviroment, be blamed not on the construction, but on Israel, they fear. |
| INTERCESSORS FOR AMERICA - ISRAEL / MIDDLE EAST ALERT Editorial Team: Gary Bergel / Brian Miller / Tim Winter / William Lee email to: PrayMidEast@aol.com |