Monday, October 24, 2005

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: World Net Daily reports more from Sheikh Hatib on Temple Mount archaeology and history:
Israeli dig to spark Temple Mount violence?
Al Aqsa leader warns of deadly riots, busing supporters to mosque

Posted: October 24, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

JERUSALEM – A senior Al Aqsa leader whose group has been accused of associations with Hamas told WorldNetDaily yesterday recent Israeli digs near the Temple Mount and a plan to construct an underground visitors center near the Western Wall are really Jewish designs to destroy the mosque, potentially sparking deadly riots.

The group, which has previously been involved with Temple Mount violence, has been sending buses the past few weeks to Israeli Arab neighborhoods asking Muslims to "swarm" the Al Aqsa Mosque to protect it from "Jewish attacks," WND has learned.

[...]

The archaeological dig in question was noted here on PaleoJudaica. And here's a Ha'aretz article on the visitor's center.

Then there's this historical note:
Hatib told WND the recent Israeli archeological findings are "nonsense. Finding pieces of one centimeter is nothing near our historical right that counts thousands of years before Israel and before Moses. I suggest to the Israeli and Jewish fanatics and to the Christian groups in America who support them to think about how to support peace and not war."

UPDATE (25 October): A reader who does not wish to be named takes me to task a bit for quoting WND, since they are not actually journalists, they have an obvious agenda of their own, and their reporting is not necessarily reliable. Fair enough. The information is only as good as its source. What Sheikh Hatib is reported to have said has the historical problems I have indicated. It does cohere with what the Zayed Centre said about the al-Aqsa Mosque, but that doesn't mean the Sheikh's comments have been reported accurately by WND, and I have no cross verification. I blog, you decide. If anyone is aware of him saying he has been misquoted or misrepresented, please let me know.

UPDATE (27 October): More here.

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