Report: Israel will demolish one of Jerusalem’s seven historic gates

The Israeli Archeology department decided to destroy one of the gates in the Jerusalem old wall, which leads to the Aqsa mosque yards, in the old city, media reports said on Friday.

The gate, known as Bab Al-Magharbeh which and is located in one of the most sensitive places in Jerusalem.

Local observers said Israel want to use the fact that the Palestinian Authority is paralyzed at the moment and that they world’s attention is directed at the situation in Gaza Strip, which makes a perfect environment for Israel to implement this plan silently.

In February 2004, a 10-meter-wide section of the embankment’s supporting wall collapsed.

Palestinians said in 2004 that the wall collapsed because archeological excavations in that area and under the Aqsa Mosque.

has been digging under the mosque since a very long time, in attempts to find remains of Solomon’s temple under the compound.

First phase: Extensive diggings were carried out on an area of 70 square meters under the southern wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (1967-1968).

Second phase: In 1969, the diggings exceeded an area of 80 square meters adjacent to the wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. These ongoing diggings caused a serious undermining of the adjacent building. Subsequently, the entire Magharbah quarter was demolished.

Third phase: The diggings in 1970 resulted in serious cracks in the foundations of the Ottoman Mosque (Ribat Al-Kurd), and the Jawhiriya School.

Fourth phase: Diggings (1972-1974) behind the wall of Al Aqsa Mosque and extending across the southern wall of the Mosque and under the Mihrab pulpit and beneath the Mosque of Omar.

Fifth phase: The diggings in the middle of the eastern side of the wall near the Golden Gate, where those diggings inflicted extensive damage upon an ancient Islamic cemetery near the site.

Sixth phase: An expansion of the area of the Wailing Wall designed to destroy all the buildings in the area surrounding the Wailing Wall.

An Israeli Ministerial Committee endorsed in 1977 the implementation of this plan, which includes the demolition of several Islamic historic buildings, including the Old Islamic Shari’s Court, the Tankinazia School, the Khalidiya Library, a charitable Zawiya (corner) and the Abu-Midian ancient Mosque.

Seventh phase: The most ominous and menacing of these continuous diggings started when the occupation authorities declared on August, 27 1981 that they had discovered a tunnel beneath the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock, which extends through these and beneath the foundations of Al Aqsa Mosque.

Israeli archeologist, Maier Bin Dov warned against this demolition saying that it might cause a blood shed.  He said, “digging there is not a mere archeological act, this is a sensitive place and the price may be very high.”

In the past two years, the Israeli public security service, (Shabak) prevented the Israeli archeology department from digging a second tunnel under the Aqsa mosque fearing a serious Muslim reaction, similar to the reaction of 1996, when dug a tunnel under the Aqsa mosque, when the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was then the Mayor of Jerusalem.