World Israel News - April 1st
Photos uploaded on Tuesday to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf’s
official Facebook page showed them conducting unauthorized digs on the Temple
Mount.
“Despite the closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram esh-Sharif
due to coronavirus, the staff, workers and guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque are
continuing their hard work,” wrote the Jordanian-backed Wakf which administers
the Temple Mount.
The Arab Desk of the pro-Israel watchdog group Im Tirtzu,
which first reported the unauthorized digs, accused the Waqf of taking advantage
of the closure to perform the illegal digs that are aimed at “destroying Jewish
artifacts and history.”
The holy site was closed last week to stem the spread of the
novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Due to the highly sensitive nature of the Temple Mount, all
digs must be approved by both the Waqf and the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Despite this, the Waqf has a long history of conducting
illegal digs, most notably in 1999 when they disposed of over 9,000 tons of
dirt mixed with invaluable archaeological artifacts that are now being salvaged
by The Temple Mount Sifting Project.
The Students for the Temple Mount organization which
promotes religious equality and freedom on the Temple Mount, also blasted the
digs.
“The fact that the Waqf had the gall to publicly publish
pictures of this illegal digging just emphasizes Israel’s lack of sovereignty
on the Temple Mount,” said the organization.
Tom Nisani, head of Im Tirtzu’s Arab Desk noted that “what
is even more disturbing are the things that the Waqf doesn’t make public.”
“The time has come for Israel to once and for all assert its
sovereignty over the Temple Mount. It’s absurd that the Temple Mount –
Judaism’s holiest site – is the only place in the Western World where Jews
can’t pray.”
“The longer the Temple Mount stays closed, the greater the
chances are that the Waqf will destroy more Jewish history,” Nisani cautioned.
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