Occupied Jerusalem: Islamic officials intensified calls for Israel to abandon a controversial dig in occupied Jerusalem yesterday, saying they were upset they had not been told sooner about a discovery of relics at the site three years ago.
Antiquities Authority archaeologist Yuval Baruch described in an undated article now posted on the Authority's web site how a snowstorm eroded a ramp leading to two major mosques in occupied Jerusalem's Old City in 2004, exposing a 'domed vestibule' that could be from an ancient Muslim school.
The Mughrabi ramp became a tinderbox issue this month, with renewed Israeli excavations at the site sparking often violent Palestinian protests amid fears that the compound housing Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock mosques could be undermined.
Israel said its dig aimed to scour for archaeological relics ahead of a planned renovation of the ramp.
Israeli officials denied there was any risk to Muslim holy places.
But the Waqf, a Jordanian-backed body that oversees Muslim holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, pointed to the late publication of the vestibule's discovery as evidence of poor faith by Israel.
"They did not contact us," Waqf director Adnan Hussaini said. "They are working on their own, and this in itself carries grave consequences." Hussaini said the vestibule dated back to the 12th century.
"I think this [publication] should be a step towards ending all the excavation work at the site. If they continue it means they are destroying the Islamic character of the city," he said.
