| Submit your comments on this article |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel is not digging under al-Aqsa Mosque: PM |
| 2009-10-13 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday blamed recent violence at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on Arab "extremist elements" and rejected archeologists' and residents accusations that Tel Aviv was digging under one of Islam's holiest sites. The prime minister's statements came after calm had returned to the area and restrictions on access to the al-Aqsa compound, which houses the sacred mosque, were lifted after weeks of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian residents. Netanyahu told reporters at the weekly meeting of his cabinet that "extremist elements tried to disturb the peace and quiet in Jerusalem." "We are talking about a radical minority that spread lies that we intend to dig under the Temple Mount. I want to make clear that this is a lie," he said. "I appreciate that the majority of Israel's Arab citizens were not caught up in these provocations." The prime minister's words were likely to do nothing to quell anger over what many Muslim religious authorities and residents insist is excavation and digging taking place under the al-Aqsa compound under the disguise of archaeological work. In 2008, residents of the area told the French news agency AFP they were awakened nearly every night by the sound of Jewish settlers tunneling under their homes towards the Old City's al-Aqsa Mosque compound. "We hear them at night, under the house. Sometimes the whole building shakes. Then they leave the next morning, early," a resident told AFP at the time. The reasons for the confrontations at the flashpoint compound, which is revered by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, and by Jews as the Temple Mount, were disputed. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 "no, we're digging under Temple Mount" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-10-13 20:35 |
| #3 Tunnel, NO. Drill to plant charges Yes. I'd love to see how many secondaries go BOOM. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-10-13 13:05 |
| #2 If there's tunneling going on there it's probably some Gaza gophers that got lost. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-10-13 07:58 |
| #1 Why not? |
| Posted by: SR-71 2009-10-13 06:25 |