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Jerusalem

Muslims seeking to tighten grip on Temple Mount


By Stan Goodenough
July 04, 2007

The God of Israel calls it His Holy Hill, it is the Jews’ most sacred site – upon which stood the first and second temples, and the Bible describes it as the throne room of the coming Messiah.

Muslims know the centrality of this location to the Jewish and Christian faiths, and have made a priority out of securing and keeping it under Islamic control.

The Islamic presence has been compared to that of a beast squatting over the Temple Mount, greedily keeping control from slipping away.

Jews and Christians are thus banned from praying and reading their Bibles on the height, over which four minarets tower and upon which a fifth and largest minaret is set to be built by Jordan.

For many years the Waqf (or Islamic Trust) has been defying Israeli law, excavating massive areas of the mount at will and constructing more mosques on it.

Hamas – the “Palestinian” Islamist terrorist group that took control of the Gaza Strip two weeks ago in a show of murderous violence – was reportedly recently thwarted in its efforts to extend its tentacles of control over the Temple Mount.

Recent years have seen Hamas invest millions of shekels in Jerusalem charities and religious institutions, as well as in construction on the Temple Mount, according to The Jerusalem Post.

A senior official in Israel’s internal security services said Hamas’ goal “is to gain full control over the Temple Mount.

Meanwhile, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been working surreptitiously to strengthen its already strong hold and influence over the mount by purchasing real estate in the area in order to control access to it.

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