Muslim Protests As Israel Digs at Holy Site

Israeli archaeologists began digging up a stone ramp near the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City yesterday, bringing immediate protests from Palestinians and condemnation from the king of Jordan.

The work is the first stage in a scheme to build a new, raised walkway up to the site, which is known as the Haram al-Sharif to Muslims and the Temple Mount to Jews. Next to the walkway is the Western Wall, which dates from the time of the Second Temple and is the holiest site in Judaism.

Israeli archaeologists say the work is necessary on safety grounds, but Muslim leaders fear damage to the foundations of the site.

Archaeological work in Jerusalem's Old City is frequently contentious and has triggered violence in the past.

The second intifada erupted after the then Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, walked on to the Haram al-Sharif in 2000.

Experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority are also excavating at three places to the south-west corner of the site in what is now the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, where engineers plan to install a series of pylons to support the proposed new walkway.

Dozens of armed police stood guard yesterday as two mechanical diggers began taking up the stone ramp. Large numbers of police kept Palestinian men under the age of 45 away from the site, but there were at least three protests elsewhere in Jerusalem.

King Abdullah of Jordan, whose family has custodianship of the Muslim shrines, condemned the work as a "blatant violation" and a "dangerous escalation".

"These measures will only create an atmosphere that will not at all help in the success of efforts being undertaken to restore the peace process," he said.

At the site, Dr Gideon Avni, director of excavations and surveys at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said there would be no damage to the mosques or the site. "The claims about damage to the stability of the Temple Mount we believe are baseless because we are working only outside the walls of the Temple Mount in a very limited area," he said.

The work was first planned after a storm three years ago damaged the stone ramp leading up to the Mugrabi gate of the holy site, an entrance generally used by tourists. An engineering survey declared the ramp unsafe and a temporary, wooden walkway was built next to it on stilts. Eventually the wooden structure will be removed and replaced by the new 100 metre-long raised walkway.