MIDDLE EAST: WHAT HAVE ARCHAEOLOGISTS DUG UP?

Special security measures are taken in Jerusalem's old town every Friday, and only old men and women are allowed to attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third most important Muslim shrine after Mecca and Medina. This is because there have already been clashes during which not only men and youths, but also young women, threw stones at the police. The tensions were detonated by… archaeological excavations.

"Playing with fire"

Everything started quite innocently. A pedestrian bridge that led to the Maghreb Gate collapsed following snowfalls and an earthquake three years ago. At first it was replaced by a "temporary" bridge made of wood, but now it has been decided to build a more reliable fixed bridge, and according to the law, obligatory archaeological excavations were begun at the site of the proposed construction.

The Israeli media report that these excavations have already confirmed a theory about the precise location of the Jerusalem temple. A professor of the faculty of archaeology of the Jewish University, Yosef Patrikh, who found the new material evidence, maintains that the main building of the shrine was in fact situated southeast of the Wailing Wall. Specifically, a gigantic underground water reservoir has been found in the south of Temple Mount, below its upper layer. According to researchers, this means that there was an altar and the main building of the shrine nearby. It is stressed in Israel that scientists believe that the rock on which the third most important shrine after Mecca and Medina, the Al-Aqsa and Qubbat Al-Sakhra mosques, stands is located beyond the area where the temple of Jerusalem used to stand.

The latest clarification is of special importance to Jerusalem's "realities". The temple of Jerusalem was on the same Temple Mount where Al-Aqsa and Qubbat Al-Sakhra now stand, and Jerusalem is full of fanatics who try to use these elements of historiography as political trump cards. Sane politicians and historians on both sides warned that Qubbat Al-Sakhra and Al-Aqsa stand on a rock and there is nothing underneath that would resemble the ruins of an old temple, but this did not stop the fanatics, or to be more precise, political speculators. A threat to the mosques is too useful a slogan not to be used. And this time, the beginning of the excavations caused a further upsurge in political tension. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal condemned Israel's decision to carry out excavations near Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, describing it as "playing with fire". "I want to issue a strong warning to the enemy. The desecration of Al-Aqsa by Sharon in 2000 caused an intifada to begin. The Israeli authorities should learn a lesson from this. This is like playing with fire," Mashaal said at a press conference in the Syrian capital. The Palestinian terrorist group, Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade (FATH), issued a statement in which it threatened to blow up synagogues if the Israeli authorities do not stop the excavations on Temple Mount. The terrorists also called on Palestinians "at home and in exile" to stage mass protests.

The desecration of Al-Aqsa in 2000, which Khaled Mashaal mentioned, deserves special attention. Ariel Sharon, the leader of the right-wing opposition at the time, openly went on a walkabout on Temple Mount. However, neither Sharon nor the people accompanying him entered the mosque, nor did they take any insulting or illegal action. In Azerbaijan, Turkish and Egyptian non-Muslims have the right to enter a mosque, and the Sultan Mehmet and Sultaniyye mosques in Istanbul and Muhammad Ali Mosque in Cairo are favourite tourist sites. Non-Muslim tourists in Turkey can also visit the Topkapi palace mosque where priceless relics are kept. Those relics include a weapon that belonged to the Prophet Muhammad, one of his teeth and a hair from his beard, a gold setting from the "sky stone" in the wall of the Kaaba Temple, an old key to its door (Saudi Arabia, despite its "oil wealth", has still not replaced the silver setting of the stone with a gold one) and so on. Preachers read the Koran non-stop here, while a plaque in several languages calls on tourists to bear in mind that there are might be Muslim pilgrims around and to respect their religious feelings. In Jerusalem everything is different: non-Muslims are not allowed to enter Al-Aqsa and Qubbat Al-Sakhra, and the Palestinian "supporters of pure Islam" have already described the appearance of non-Muslims on the Temple Mount as a "desecration of the mosque".

Observers, however, remind us of something else. Palestinian leaders have already and repeatedly warned the Israelis that the archaeological excavations might cause the ancient and esteemed mosques to collapse. The Israelis, however, maintain that all this is nothing other than a propaganda trick. The excavations do not threaten anyone or anything, and no-one is going to knock down the mosques. Finally, the excavations at the site of the collapsing pedestrian bridge might threaten the main Jewish shrine - the Wailing Wall, but no-one draws attention to that.

Many observers are sure that an event which took place in 1996 gives much food for thought. The opening to the public of the so-called "Hasmonean Tunnel", which passed by the Muslim shrines of Jerusalem, provoked disturbances in which dozens of people were killed: the new tunnel allegedly posed a danger to Al-Aqsa Mosque. Strictly speaking, the tunnel was a kind of "kariz", i.e. a culvert. It was reinforced and cleared of litter and then extended to Arab quarters in order to allow tourists who walk along the old kariz, to go further and fall into the hands of Arab merchants - owners of numerous shops and restaurants. To this end, they had to extend the tunnel a little further, but this happened at quite a distance from Temple Mount. Finally, the Israelis stressed that the tunnel was much closer to the Wailing Wall than to the mosques on Temple Mount and that "Zionists" would hardly destroy or even endanger their own shrine.

The tunnel was in greater danger of collapse when it was just a forgotten "hole in the ground", but after its safety was raised to tourist standards the issue gave rise to much rhetoric. But no-one listened any more to the arguments. Or to be more precise, no-one wanted to hear them as there was a "political order" for another protest in defence of Islamic shrines.

Tehran's opinion

The situation is extremely tense again because of the archaeological excavations. It was these excavations that aroused the wrath of Arab leaders. First they saw them as a potential threat to Al-Aqsa Mosque located on the top of Temple Mount. Then, when it became clear that due to geographic and geological realities, these excavations posed a greater threat to the main Jewish shrine - the Wailing Wall, and not to the mosque, they raised the issue of Islamic artefacts that might be discovered as a result of the excavations. And the most dangerous thing is that Iran joined in.

"Islamic countries must make the Zionists repent. We cannot keep quiet in the face of such insulting actions, the Muslim world should react to this with credit," an Iranian ayatollah said at a meeting with Islamic Jihad leader Abdallah Ramadan Salah, who was paying a visit to Iran. In turn, 206 deputies of the Iranian parliament signed a letter of protest against Israel's actions. Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki called for an emergency session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to be convened in connection with Israel's decision to begin excavations near Temple Mount. "The excavations near Al-Aqsa Mosque showed once again the extremist nature of this regime whose policy is to trample upon the rights of the Palestinian people and insult a place that is holy to all Muslims," Mottaki said in his letter to OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

"We hope that as the only international organization that unites 57 countries of the Muslim world, the OIC will play an effective role in taking measures to counter this aggression from Israel," the Iranian foreign minister said. Observers are already saying that we should not forget how OIC discussions on the "Danish cartoons" ended, especially as at least three of the most outrageous pictures which were shown behind the set of the OIC summit, were fake and had never been published in the Danish press.

A chance for FATH

In addition, the scandal around the excavations began against the background of another upsurge in domestic Palestinian confrontation. The attention of Middle Eastern and international observers was focused on the negotiations between FATH and Hamas in Mecca where they managed to agree on the formation of a national unity government. However, at the last minute, the leaders of the Palestinian groups shied away from a statement on the implementation of this plan. What is more, whether the new Palestine will get foreign financial aid is an even bigger question. In any case, the positions of Russia and the USA on this issue are different again. On behalf of the "Quartet", Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied a report about the international mediators boycotting the leadership of the Palestinian Authority: "The statement on the results of the "Quartet" meeting shows that it is necessary to encourage moves by the new Palestinian leadership to adopt the criteria of the "Quartet", and notes the need to strive for a comprehensive peace. In this context, we emphasize the steps that need to be taken, including assistance to the Palestinians. So the "Quartet" has not boycotted anyone," Interfax quoted the minister as saying.

However, Condoleezza Rice described all talk about support for the Palestinian authorities as premature. "As I said before, there is no national unity government that we would be able to support right now," Rice said. What is more, she made it clear that Washington is in no hurry to recognize the new Palestinian government and provide it with financial aid until this new government recognizes Israel's right to exist.

To be honest, from the first day of the negotiations in Mecca, a formula was devised which would allow Western politicians to communicate with the Palestinians and save face for the same Palestinians. The world was ready to regard as recognition of Israel the point in the Mecca agreements which said that the new government accepts the previous agreements reached with Israel, which is indirect recognition of it. However, the Palestinians turned out to be quite problematic partners. Ahmad Yusif, political adviser to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Hania, said that the national unity government being set up in the Palestinian Authority is not going to recognize Israel. "The platform of the new government will not contain a point on recognition whatever the pressure from the USA and the "Quartet" (EU, UN, Russia and USA)," Ahmad Yusif said. Against this background, the Palestinian cabinet will hardly get any foreign aid from the West. Without this aid, the Palestinian administration will find it difficult to exist - most of the 2bn-dollar Palestinian budget was formed from injections of foreign money. The main donor here was the EU which sent 500m euros to Palestine every year. The Palestinian administration received 50-55m dollars from Israel in the form of tax and customs revenues. Now all these payments have been suspended. Moscow, Iran and Arab countries are ready to talk to Hamas, but they are unlikely to be able to replace the West from a financial point of view. These circumstances give the same FATH hope for a political revenge which will make it possible to review the agreements signed in Mecca.