New tussle over Temple Mount

last updated 8 January 2015

Jerusalem

The Temple Mount—the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam—is at risk of collapse, archaeologists warned this week. A 35-foot-wide bulge has appeared in the southeastern supporting wall in the past two years, and if it buckles, the whole structure could come down. “I can’t say exactly when,” Israeli archaeologist Gabriel Barkai told the Los Angeles Times, “but there is no question that it will collapse.” The structure was being repaired by an Islamic trust, but Israeli officials made them stop their work, saying the Muslims were not fixing the breach but rather trying to destroy evidence of an ancient Jewish temple. If an accident occurs next month during Ramadan, when some 200,000 Muslim pilgrims are expected to visit, many people could be injured. “The Israeli government will be responsible if there are lives lost,” said trust director Adrian Husseini.