http://www.boston.com/dailynews/232/world/Retaining_wall_at_disputed_Jer:.shtml

Retaining wall at disputed Jerusalem holy site in danger of collapse

By Yoav Appel, Associated Press, 8/20/2001 16:40

JERUSALEM (AP) Part of the retaining wall of Jerusalem's most hotly contested holy site is in danger of collapse, with a large bulge in a stone wall near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, archaeologists say.

The Israelis and Palestinians blame each other for the ominous 35-foot-wide bulge in the wall holding up the southern end of the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, built on the site of the biblical Jewish Temples. Despite warnings the wall could cave in, the fingerpointing is holding up repairs.

Even a small change at the site could be explosive, much less a large-scale collapse. A visit to the site by Ariel Sharon, now Israel's prime minister, infuriated Palestinians, and violence that followed is still going on nearly 11 months later.

The retaining wall was built around the 8th century on top of King Herod's wall from the era of the Second Jewish Temple some 2,000 years ago. It forms the southern boundary of Haram as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, from where Muslims believe the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

Just around the corner is the Western Wall, another retaining wall of the Solomonic-Herodian compound, the holiest place where Jews are allowed to pray. Most rabbis ban Jews from setting foot on the site itself, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, because modern-day Jews are ritually impure.

In a region where politics and religion often blend and boil, the consequences of a collapse could be ''apocalyptic'' because ''emotions get so fired up,'' said Mideast analyst Mark Heller of Tel Aviv University.

Palestinians, who want east Jerusalem as the capital of a state, call the conflict the ''Al-Aqsa Intefadeh'' after the central mosque in the compound.

Israel captured the compound during the 1967 Mideast War, but left daily running of the site to the Waqf, or Islamic trust. Since Sharon's visit, the Waqf has denied non-Muslims entry to the site.

Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar blames the Waqf for the bulge in the wall, because the Waqf has carried out extensive renovations. Mazar said the remodeling of an area just inside the compound, known as Solomon's Stables, or the Al-Marawani mosque, caused the damage.

Mazar described the actions of the Waqf as ''criminal,'' and said the renovations were carried out without correct supervision.

The roof of the Al-Marawani mosque could fall on the heads of worshippers, she warned. ''It endangers lives as well as artifacts,'' Mazar said.

The Palestinians say Israeli archaeological digs around the base of the wall are to blame.

''The renovations we are doing aim at protecting the mosque,'' said Jerusalem's top Muslim cleric, Ikrema Sabri, although he didn't say if the Waqf was planning on fixing the wall. ''It's our duty to renovate the wall if it really needs renovating,'' he added.

Sabri, who has previously made comments denying the existence of the Jewish Temples on the site, said the Israeli Antiquities Authority had not allowed the Waqf to view the Israeli digs.

Osnat Goez, spokeswoman for the Antiquities Authority, denied that. ''The digs are open to the public,'' she said. However, sections of the digs close to the wall have been cordoned off, and signs warn of the danger of falling objects.

Mazar said the digs at the base of the wall did not cause the bulge, which begins approximately 50 feet up the face of the wall, level with the windows of the Al-Marawani mosque. The Israeli excavations ended in 1997.

Although the physical effects of a collapse are unknown, experts warn it could set off a firestorm.

The Islamic world has been accusing Israel of trying to destroy the compound by undermining its foundations for years. If the wall collapsed, ''There would be a big hue and cry throughout the Muslim world, and a demand for a holy war,'' Heller said.

While not discounting the possibility of a flare-up, expert Efraim Inbar of Bar Ilan University noted that the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians in recent fighting have not set off a regional war, ''There has not been an Arab Crusade toward Jerusalem'' as a result, he said.

An Antiquities Authority official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the authority had conducted tests on the wall, but the results will not be known for about two months.

Shalom Goldstein, an adviser to Jerusalem's mayor, said though the compound is under the city's jurisdiction, ''our inspectors can only enter when the police allow, and so far they haven't been allowed.''

''The Waqf has seen the problem and are trying to correct it,'' he said.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001