Israel to resume al-Aqsa dig

Middle East

Arab officials say the decision could harm the peace process with the Palestinians.

Last Modified: 14 Oct 2007 16:38 GMT

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Excavation work at the site outside the al-Aqsa mosque compound was halted in June [AFP]

Israel has decided to resume controversial excavation work outside the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Arab East Jerusalem.

The digging, which Israel says will clear the way for construction of a new pedestrian walkway to the Old City compound, sparked angry protests from Muslims when it was begun in February.

Some feared the work would damage the foundations of holy sites in the area known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

Yaacov Edri, immigrant absorption minister, said on Sunday that an independent Turkish committee which inspected the site "approved the project".

Work at the site was halted without explanation in June, but Edri said that it would resume "very soon".

'Bad timing'

After Ederi's announcement, Raleb Majadele, the only Arab in the Israeli cabinet, filed an appeal against the project, halting progress for two weeks.

"I want the excavations delayed because it is very bad timing under the present political conditions," he said, citing a planned US-sponsored peace conference in November and the current Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

"I want the excavations delayed because it is very bad timing under the present political conditions"

Raleb Majadele, Arab cabinet minister

Dalit Menzil, a spokeswoman for the Israel antiquities authority, said the agency was waiting for government orders to resume the dig. She said "preservation, documentation and stabilisation" work has continued uninterrupted.

Adnan Husseini, an adviser on Jerusalem affairs to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, said the move threatened to derail the meeting in Maryland.

"Always, whenever there is an important move toward peace, they do something to enrage Palestinians," he said.

Israel dismissed previous objections as politically motivated and said that the work needed to be carried out to replace a ramp which was dangerous after being damaged in a snowstorm in 2004.

The compound is revered by Jews as it is believed to be the site of two destroyed biblical temples.

Source:

Agencies

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