Press questions Jerusalem repairs

[Englander]

"Israel's excavation work near Jerusalem's main shrines has caused controversy in the Palestinian and Israeli press. Some see political motives beyond the restoration of a walkway leading to the al-Aqsa Mosque and Temple Mount compound.

Palestinian papers condemn what they see as an Israeli attempt to "turn Jerusalem into a Jewish city". Several Arab papers think the timing of the excavations is a deliberate attempt to take advantage of recent discord between Palestinian factions.

Some Israeli commentators wonder whether the repair work is worth the anger they say it has provoked among Muslims.

RONI SHAKED IN ISRAEL'S YEDIOT AHARONOT

Yesterday the Muslim world was united in hatred of Israel after seeing pictures of the Israeli bulldozer that turned up at Temple Mount at the foot of the golden mosque. Senior religious figures from Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt poured scorn on Israel. The bridge in the eye of the storm is a negligible bridge used by scores of people a day at the most. So why build a new bridge?

EX-MINISTER YOSSI SARID IN ISRAEL'S HA'ARETZ

Sometimes it seems that if there is a dangerous tunnel in the Temple Mount compound and it is possible to thrust our way toward it, then sooner or later that is what will happen, shaking up the most sensitive site in the world... If the works are not crucial or urgently needed to save lives, then it's best to steer clear of the compound of conflagration.

EDITORIAL IN ISRAEL'S JERUSALEM POST

Palestinian leaders, whether from Fatah or Hamas, have been keen to find an excuse to divert attention from their internal problems. So it is not surprising that many have jumped on Israel's reconstruction of an access bridge to Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Any real concerns about the salvage and building work should, and patently could, be handled appropriately and calmly, through open dialogue and constructive debate.

EDITORIAL IN PAN-ARAB AL-QUDS AL-ARABI

The Israelis know how weak the Arab government is and they have therefore chosen the perfect time to start the excavations. This time they are working with great gusto in the hope that they will discover Solomon's Temple, allegedly buried beneath al-Aqsa Mosque. We were hoping, like millions of Arabs and Muslims, that Arab states like Morocco, Egypt and Jordan, which maintain diplomatic ties with the Jewish state, will withdraw their envoys and close their embassies unless Israel stops the excavations immediately.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6338093.stm