A bill introduced in the House of Representatives today would halt all U.S. monetary assistance to the Palestinian Authority until excavation of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is stopped.
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., introduced the measure, the official number of which will be published in the Congressional Record this week. Titled the “Temple Mount Preservation Act,” the bill would cut off all aid to Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority until all unauthorized excavations of the Temple Mount are stopped.
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va. |
Currently, the United States is on track to send $125 million in aid this year to the United States Agency for International Development – USAID – for the Palestinians. The money is part of a $400 million package over three years appropriated by Congress in 2000. Additionally, the U.S. annually provides approximately $75 million in indirect aid to the Palestinians through the USAID, said the congressman.
In biblical times, the people of Israel worshipped at the temple in Jerusalem – the hub of Jewish activity. After Israel’s enemies destroyed the temple, it was rebuilt only to be destroyed again in A.D. 70 by the Roman Empire. The Temple Mount is now the site of the Dome of the Rock – a Muslim mosque.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference yesterday, Cantor noted that Israel has been legally responsible for the Temple Mount since Jerusalem was brought under Israel’s sovereignty in 1967. Shortly after the 1967 war, the Israeli government delegated authority for the daily oversight of the Temple Mount to the Waqf, a Muslim Foundation, in tacit cooperation with Jordan, he said. Jordan’s role as custodian of Muslim religious interests was codified in the Israel-Jordanian peace treaty of 1994.
“In the aftermath of the negotiations surrounding the Oslo Accords, Chairman Yasser Arafat took control of the Waqf, bringing about a change in the policy of free access for all religions on the Temple Mount,” Cantor said. “He began by replacing the Jordanian-affiliated clergymen and officials and named Mufti Ikrima Sabri the chief Muslim administrator. Sabri, known for his anti-Semitic and anti-American views, has since declared that the Jews have no right to the Temple Mount.”
“More recently, Arafat has denied Jewish and Christian worshipers access to the historic Temple Mount and has restricted media from visiting the site,” the congressman continued.
According to Cantor, Arafat’s Waqf has permitted large-scale bulldozing and destruction of the Temple Mount antiquities beginning in early 1998. Since then, thousands of tons of fill have been unearthed and dumped into the nearby Kidron Valley. Archeologists have verified these artifacts date from the period of the First Temple, circa 1006 B.C. to 586 B.C., he said.
Cantor displayed photos of the Temple Mount area that he says “depict bulldozers crushing evidence of the religious site and new construction masking any trace of the temple.”
“Anybody with any reasonable perspective would hold that the Temple Mount should be preserved and any disturbance thereon closely monitored. But now, there are bulldozers and stone-cutting machines hacking away every day,” he said.
Cantor returned two weeks ago from a visit to Israel, where he says he met with individuals and government officials who verified the media reports of the destruction. Among those confirming the pattern of destruction to the congressman was Jerusalem’s Mayor Ehud Olmert.
The reason for the site’s destruction, said Cantor, is articulated in a “National Review” October 2000 opinion-editorial.
“Moreover, the Waqf has devoted the past 33 years to an extensive campaign of excavation, systematically destroying any evidence of Jewish and Christian presence on the Temple Mount, so that they could argue – as they now do – that it has always been an exclusively Muslim place,” the author wrote.
Cantor also pointed to a March 2001 report by the Boston Globe, which quoted Sheik Ikrima Sabri as saying, “The Temple Mount was never there. … There is not one bit of proof to establish that. We do not recognize that the Jews have any right to the wall or to one inch of the sanctuary. … Jews are greedy to control our mosque. … If they every try to, it will be the end of Israel.”
Underscoring his reasons for introducing the bill, Cantor remarked, “The bottom line is, Chairman Arafat’s intent is to deny access to the Temple Mount for any individuals other than followers of Islam. In addition, the evidence produced today clearly shows that Arafat is intent on erasing Judeo-Christian connections to the holy site.”
Asked for his response to the bill’s introduction, Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper identified the Israeli government as the controlling authority over the Temple Mount area.
“The ones who control the area should be asked about it (the destruction),” said Hooper, reluctantly giving his name for the record.
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