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Israel Refutes Claims that Excavation Work Threatens Muslim Shrine

[Reuters] Jonathan Saul - Israeli authorities are involved in excavation projects in Jerusalem near where the biblical Jewish Temples once stood. The Islamic Trust, which administers the Dome of the Rock Muslim shrine and the al-Aqsa Mosque, says the work has weakened those structures. But Arieh Banner, an official with Israel's Western Wall Heritage Foundation, said there was no chance the work would cause damage. Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Jewish holy sites in Israel, said there were no plans to excavate under the Dome of the Rock, located on the Temple Mount. "There has not been any such plan....Any work that is being done is far away from the Temple Mount. There is no doubt about that." In recent days there have been reports of a plan by Jews to build a synagogue near the al-Aqsa Mosque. But Rabbi Rabinowitz said, "We are not speaking about a new synagogue, but the renovation of a synagogue which was established before 1967 and one which is far away from the Temple Mount."
2007-02-02 01:00:00
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