JERUSALEM: TEMPLE MOUNT HOLY SHRINE HAS BEEN CLOSED AGAINST JUST WEEKS AFTER ISRAELIS DECIDED TO OPEN IT TO TOURISTS

Record ID: 649186

  • Title: JERUSALEM: TEMPLE MOUNT HOLY SHRINE HAS BEEN CLOSED AGAINST JUST WEEKS AFTER ISRAELIS DECIDED TO OPEN IT TO TOURISTS
  • Date: 1st August 2003
  • Summary: (EU) JERUSALEM (JULY 31, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. SLV DOME OF THE ROCK; SLV MARKET OUTSIDE ENTRANCE TO HOLY SHRINE (KNOWN BY JEWS AS TEMPLE MOUNT AND BY MUSLIMS AS HARAM AL-SHARIF) (5 SHOTS) 0.49 2. EST SHOT SCU SHEIKH MOHAMMED HUSSEIN'S HANDS, HEAD OF WAQF IN AL-AQSA MOSQUE 0.57 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SHEIKH MOHAMMED HUSSEIN, HEAD OF ISLAMIC TRUST (WAQF) IN AL-AQSA MOSQUE, SAYING "Since (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon entered the mosque at the beginning of the intifada, the compound has been closed to preserve the security of the holy mosque, but the Israelis tried to make some tourist groups enter by force to the mosque and then they reversed their decision because only the Islamic Waqf has the right to do this alone. They tried to correct the mistake they made." 2.00 5. SLV HUSSEIN WALKING AWAY; MV MUSLIMS ENTERING AND LEAVING HARAM AL-SHARIF (3 SHOTS) 2.49 (EU) JERUSALEM (RECENT) (REUTERS) TRACKING SHOT INTERIOR VIEWS OF SOLOMON'S STABLES, INSIDE HARAM AL-SHARIF (4 SHOTS) 3.07 6. SLV NON-MUSLIM TOURISTS BEING ALLOWED TO ENTER HARAM AL-SHARIF; SLV MOROCCAN ENTRANCE TO HARAM AL-SHARIF CLOSING (3 SHOTS) 3.43 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 16th August 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JERUSALEM
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Reuters ID: LVADKD17V56BTLP9SM9PRLZ01N1L
  • Story Text: Temple Mount, Jerusalem's holy shrine, has been
    closed again just weeks after the Israelis had decided to
    open it to tourists.

    Jerusalem's holy shrine, known to Jews as Temple
    Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or Noble
    Sanctuary, has again been closed off to non-Muslims, just
    a few weeks after a decision by Israel to allow Israelis
    and tourists to enter.

    The Islamic Trust or Waqf, appointed by the
    Palestinian Authority to administer the site, warned that
    permitting non-Muslim visitors onto the site would inflame
    tension and could provoke conflict. Sheikh Mohammed
    Hussein, the head of Waqf in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, has
    welcomed the decision to close the site once again, saying
    Israel has corrected its mistake.

    "Since (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon entered
    the mosque at the beginning of the intifada, the compound
    has been closed to preserve the security of the holy
    mosque, but the Israelis tried to make some tourist groups
    enter by force to the mosque and then they reversed their
    decision because only the Islamic Waqf has the right to do
    this alone. They tried to correct the mistake they made,"
    Hussein said.

    The site, situated in Jerusalem's walled old city is
    venerated by Jews as the the place where their two biblical
    temples once stood. The Western Wall, at the bottom of the
    shrine, is the last vestige of the Second Temple.

    Muslims refer to the site as Haram Al-Sharif and
    believe that Prophet Mohammad ascended to heaven from the
    dome of the rock inside the compound. The al-Aqsa mosque,
    on the other side of the compound, is one of Islam's
    holiest shrines.

    Israel captured East Jerusalem, including the Haram al
    Sharif or Temple Mount, from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East
    war and calls the entire city its indivisible capital.

    Palestinians want the eastern half as the capital of their
    future state.

    The compound became the epicentre of the
    Israeli-Palestinian conflict when the two sides failed to
    agree on sovereignty during 15 days of intensive
    U.S.-hosted peace talks at Camp David in July 2001.

    Two months later, in September 2001, then-opposition
    leader Ariel Sharon visited the site -- an event that some
    cite as catalyst for the outbreak of the Palestinian
    intifada, or uprising. The compound was subsequently closed
    to Jews and Christians.

    The site is sacred to Muslims, but it is also a holy
    place for Christians and Jews. Momentous biblical events
    are believed to have taken place there. It is also believed
    to be home to the last wall of the ancient temple sacred to
    Jews. It houses Jewish relics, now buried below the Dome of
    the Rock.


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