ISRAEL TO REPAIR TEMPLE MOUNT; MUSLIMS WHINE AND SEETH

Battle Over Jerusalem's Holiest Site? (NYSun)
"Work has begun to repair an ancient mound near Jerusalem's holiest site, raising tensions between Palestinians and Israelis," the BBC reports.

The Israeli authorities say the work is needed to restore a walkway leading to the al-Aqsa Mosque or Temple Mount compound in East Jerusalem. Palestinian leaders say it threatens Islamic archaeological remains.

And those Islamic archaeological remains came on top of the remains of the Jewish Temple and surrounding buildings -- so the Palestinians would do well to not bring historical rights into this, otherwise they might find themselves fully evicted.

The BBC also reports:

On Sunday, Jordan's King Abdullah warned against "any attack on Islamic sites" and condemned Israeli attempts "seeking to change the nature of these sites and erase their Muslim character".

Considering its record when controlling the Old City of Jerusalem (1948 to 1967), Jordan would have done well to keep quiet.

After Jordan invaded the Old City, it either killed or kicked out all the Jewish residents of Jerusalem and destroyed and desecrated Jewish holy sites. Jordan also banned Jews from having any access to their holy sites -- including the Wailing Wall. Christians too were restricted in access to their holy sites.

Only once Israel recaptured the Old City from the Jordanians were all religions given access to their sites. Israel even gave the Islamic Wakf (religious trust) control on the Temple Mount.

Update: "In a new showdown, Islamic leaders on Tuesday called for a new wave of violence against Israel over a contested Israeli archeological excavation near the Temple Mount," the Jerusalem Post reports. We hope Israel won't surrender to the threat of violence.