Nearly 10,000 pound "Cornerstone" to be "laid" for new Jewish Temple...MAYBE

[BBC News - 28 July 2001: Arab leaders have warned that a messianic Jewish organisation's plan to make the first move towards rebuilding the Biblical Temple in Jerusalem is a "dangerous step" that could lead to uncontrollable consequences.

The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful - a tiny extremist Jewish group dedicated to rebuilding the ancient house of worship - plans to place a huge cornerstone in Jerusalem on Sunday.

PHOTO CAPTION: "It is the biggest failure and sin of our time that Israel is not immediately rebuilding the Temple." - Temple Mount Faithful

Israel's Supreme Court blocked their request to place it on the actual site where Jews believe the Biblical Temple stood, but is allowing them to put it near an entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.

On Saturday, Arab leaders said that placing the stone at the Dung Gate to the Old City would be an "unjustified provocation" and a "violation of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim rights".

Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction has urged Palestinians to mass at the site to thwart any attempt to carry the 4.5-tonne stone into the compound. Israeli security forces have been instructed to keep order.

The dispute centres on the Jerusalem site which Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call the Haram al-Sharif, where the Aqsa mosque now stands.

It is the holiest location in Judaism and the third most sacred in Islam.

Sunday is the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar, when religious Jews commemorate the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC and the Second Temple in 70 AD.

The Temple Mount Faithful say that "not immediately rebuilding the Temple" is "the biggest failure and sin of our time". "By allowing extremist, fanatic elements into al-Aqsa tomorrow, Israel is clearly committing an act of tremendous provocation," Arab League spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah Khatib called it a "dangerous escalation".

Palestinian official Nabil Sha'ath described it as an extremely serious issue that had been discussed with Arab leaders.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Supreme Court refused to allow the Temple Mount Faithful onto the site itself, citing security concerns.

The Islamic authority that administers the site has not allowed non-Muslims to go there since the beginning of the Palestinian uprising in September, which was itself triggered by Ariel Sharon's visit to the site.

Mid-East Realities

www.middleeast.org

Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2001/7/311.htm