The Mughrabi Gate mess continues

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has agreed to a Turkish inspection of the construction work at disputed holy site in Jerusalem, the Turkish prime minister said Thursday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Olmert had shown him photographs of the construction work, but had failed to convince him [my italics] that it would not harm the holy sites there. — YNet (AP)

So the words and photographs presented by the Prime Minister of the sovereign state of Israel, in regard to work being done in Israel’s capital city, were not enough to convince the PM of genocidal Turkey. Inspections are needed. And if the results are not satisfactory, then what?

Meanwhile, the mayor of Jerusalem, Uri Lupolianski, put the rebuilding of the walkway on hold, because of the “sensitivity of the issue”.

Amos Oz agrees and goes further:

It would be appropriate if this argument would also lead to the postponement of the archeological excavations taking place at the foot of the Temple Mount opposite the Mugrabi Gate: Similar to the disputed excavations undertaken by the Muslim Waqf under the Temple Mount two years ago, these excavations are also sparking the fires of religious dispute over the question of who in fact is the proprietor of the Temple Mount holy sites.

This question must not be debated because there is no way to provide a consensual response and a debate is likely to lead to bloodshed. — YNet

The “disputed excavations” of the Waqf that Oz refers to were massive in scope and took place in the heart of the Temple Mount, and unlike the present harmless one, did great damage to the Temple Mount and destroyed who knows what artifacts. Israel did little or nothing to stop them, and it seems that once again the plan is to give in, despite the irrationality of the demands.

And the infuriating part is that the Arab leadership knows that the work is innocuous and is cynically exploiting it. One can understand why the world’s Muslims accept what they are told by their media. But it is impossible for me to believe that King Abdullah of Jordan, Hosni Mubarak, and other Arab leaders that have complained actually believe that Israel is undermining the Al-Aqsa mosque or the walls of the Temple Mount. I also doubt that most local Arabs, who can see with their own eyes, believe it either.

You can see live real-time images of the site here.

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