The Islamic Movement's southern branch accused Israel yesterday of carrying out excavations beneath Jerusalem's Temple Mount.

MK Ibrahim Sarsour, who heads both the movement's southern branch and the Ra'am-Ta'al party, also claimed that the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) paid a Palestinian vendor $60,000 for his store near the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The IAA denied the accusation.

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Earlier yesterday, the Islamic Movement's northern branch presented pictures taken two weeks ago that allegedly document excavations near the Temple Mount. Northern branch leader Sheikh Ra'ad Salah said that the excavations were meant to "create a stranglehold around Al-Aqsa Mosque, in order for the Israeli establishment to fulfill its darkest dreams of building a Jewish Temple [in its place]."

Upcoming dig

Islamic Movement representatives said that they also have information on an upcoming dig that they will soon reveal.

An inquiry by Haaretz revealed that the excavations referred to by Sarsour were carried out some 100 meters from the Temple Mount and were stopped due to lack of funds. The excavations, carried out by the IAA at the behest of a Jewish group on property owned by businessman Aaron Mosovitch, was first revealed by Haaretz about a year ago.

In that article, archaeologists said that the excavations were not only vertical, but horizontal, and advanced to within 60 meters of the Temple Mount. However, archaeologists claimed that the purpose of the dig was to clear out an old, garbage-filled tunnel to determine whether it posed a safety hazard.

False allegeations

Since 1967, Muslim organizations have often accused Israel of digging tunnels underneath Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to destabilize its foundations.

All these claims turned out to be false, with one exception: In 1981, the Religious Affairs Ministry carried out excavations in a preexisting tunnel that led beneath the Temple Mount. The excavations were brought to a halt by order of then prime minister Menachem Begin and then police minister Dr. Yosef Burg, and the tunnel's entrance was permanently sealed.

The Mosovitch property has been in Jewish hands for over 100 years.

It was previously the site of Ohel Yitzhak Synagogue, which was abandoned and then demolished in the wake of the 1936 Arab Revolt.