One side of a wall in the Temple Mount
compound - completely visible to worshippers at the Western Wall - collapsed on
Tuesday, uncovering an area of some 40 square meters of dirt and fill. The wall belongs to the Islamic Museum
on the Temple Mount, a building to the right and above the worshipers at the
Western Wall, identified by a small gray dome.
Archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, a member of
the Committee to Prevent the Destruction of Temple Mount Antiquities, said that
the collapse is connected with the illegal construction works being carried out
on the Temple Mount by the Moslem Waqf.
Speaking with Yisrael Medad on Arutz-7's "Freedom of
Broadcast" program, Dr. Mazar said that these works have been ongoing for
many years without supervision by either the Planning and Construction
authorities or the Antiquities Authority.
"No one is concerned about preserving
the ancient compound," she said, "nor has anyone mapped, surveyed or
buttressed the hollow areas under the Temple Mount and under the
mosques... It is frightening to
think of this collapse, and of what could happen in the future when many tens
of thousands of people visit the Temple Mount, and tractors and trucks - and
all of this atop hollow areas that have never been professionally checked. This collapse should be a warning
bell. If a catastrophe occurs, the
whole world will blame Israel."
She said that opening the compound to Jewish
visitors is "just the beginning; pressure must be exerted in order that
the supervisory authorities do what they are supposed to. The press must get involved in this
cause."