A five-person gang of would-be thieves allegedly raided an ancient historical site in Israel over the weekend, apparently attempting to loot valuable relics and causing irreparable damage along the way.
The alleged thieves, all Palestinians from the West Bank town of Beit Ula, are suspected of sneaking into Israel from Judea and Samaria and vandalizing the site. The historical area can be traced back to the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt
...The thieves allegedly came armed with a sophisticated metal detector and an array of digging tools and equipment, and attempted to execute an amateur excavation in the hopes of unearthing historic coins and ancient underground hideouts. In the process, the perpetrators broke down ancient walls and destroyed buildings that are thousands of years old.
..."We are talking about a most severe case. The bandits caused devastating and irreversible damage to the ancient site. The devastation caused was unrestricted and unprecedented, even for the relatively small size of the site," said Amir Ganor, director of the Antiquities Robbery Prevention Unit on Sunday. "Unfortunately the site has been almost completely destroyed, Ganor added. "In one fell swoop, these bandits, with a blatant disregard and following a greedy quest for financial gain, managed to erase layers from our history."
Two:
The Jerusalem District Police on Sunday closed the Mughrabi Bridge, which connects the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, and is the only access point to the holy site for Jews and tourists...Hamas officials on Monday said that Israel's closure of the Mughrabi Bridge marks the beginning of an assault on on the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa compound, which houses the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Hamas officials previously said implementing the closure would be a "criminal act which constitutes a flagrant violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims." Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, meanwhile, told AFP last week that the closure of the temporary bridge "shows their determination to judaize Jerusalem and to take over the city's Muslim holy places."...
MK Danny Danon (Likud), chairman of the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee...said on Sunday, "We need to exercise sovereignty over Jerusalem not just by law but in practice. We can't risk the safety of Jewish worshippers and security forces because of threats coming from foreign sources. If the Temple Mount is open to Muslims, it must be open to Christians and Jews as well. It is possible to allow access to the Temple Mount from alternative locations until a new bridge is built."
P.S. Take note of this reaction.
Three:
Palestinian officials are openly talking about using UNESCO to prohibit Jews from worshipping at Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs...Karl Vick of Time got himself a scoop sure to raise red flags:
Now that Palestine has been voted into UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, officials are preparing applications for the organization’s marquee designation: a World Heritage Site. Candidates are abundant. Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity stands atop the cave where believers kneel to kiss the spot, confidently marked by a starburst, said to be where Jesus Christ was born. Jericho, which marked its 10,000th birthday last year, is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the planet. And Hebron boasts the final resting place of Abraham, whose covenant with the Almighty led to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
There’s not much about the site that’s in doubt, including what Palestinian officials aim to do with the property if they get control of it — stop Jews from praying there.
The stated reason: The massive stone structure built atop the cave by King Herod, a Jew, and held for a time by Christian Crusaders, has since the 14th century been a Muslim house of worship. The Ibrahimi Mosque has minarets, rugs, washrooms for ablutions and anterooms lined with racks for storing shoes.
“It’s a mosque!” says Khaled Osaily, the mayor of Hebron. “You don’t have to be an architect to see it! Will you allow me to pray in a synagogue or a church?”
...of course...right now, anyone can pray at the Ibrahimi Mosque...
This must be combatted, vigorously.
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