Egypt summoned the Israeli ambassador to the Foreign Ministry in Cairo on Thursday to protest against the construction of a new bridge to the Temple Mount, a site holy to Jews and Muslims.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement it told the Israeli ambassador, Shalom Cohen, that the excavations could hurt efforts to revive the long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"The Foreign Ministry also stressed that the sacredness of the site makes any movement inside or around it a very sensitive issue for Arab and Muslim peoples, in a way that could cause the situation to explode," the statement said.

	Advertisement

Earlier Thursday, hundreds of people gathered outside the Dung Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem to protest against the construction.

Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement's Northern Branch, arrived at the scene, but kept his distance due to a court order prohibiting from coming within 150 meters of the Old City for the next 10 days.

On Wednesday, police detained Salah and six of his supporters after they arrived at the Old City's Dung Gate and tried to break into the excavation site near the Mugrabi Gate. A violent confrontation developed.

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court subsequently issued the order barring him and his supporters from the area.

The Prime Minister's Office said Wednesday that the work on the new bridge to the Temple Mount would not harm holy sites, in response to a written request by Defense Minister Amir Peretz that the work be halted immediately.

"As to the matter at hand," the statement said, "the restoration of the Mugrabi ascent after the place collapsed and was declared a dangerous structure was done in complete coordination with all parties, including foreign countries, relevant Muslim officials and international bodies.

"As has been explained, this work is being carried on outside the Temple Mount, and they [the repairs] do not constitute any damage to the Mount or Islamic holy places."

"The work is being carried out by professionals and with complete transparency, entirely for the safety of visitors to the Mount," the statement continued.

"A thorough examination of the matter would reveal that nothing about the work underway will harm anyone, and there is no truth in the contentions against the work."

In response to media reports on Peretz's letter, the Prime Minister's Bureau said: "The letter from the defense minister was received a few minutes before your paper approached us, and we are surprised at the fact that the letter found its way to the media so quickly. The Prime Minister's Office certainly does not see itself free to share correspondence on sensitive matters with the media."

Peretz attached to his request an opinion written by General (res.) Amos Gilad, head of the political-military bureau at the Defense Ministry. Gilad said in his letter the construction was causing considerable damage and would create foment in the Arab world, particularly at the present time, with Israel trying to initiate steps to calm things down with the Palestinians and the Arab world.

Gilad noted that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh were close to an agreement in Mecca on a unity government, and that an Olmert-Abbas summit is to take place in about two weeks. He also mentioned the planned visit to the region of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Gilad also expressed concern that the project had not been coordinated with Jordan.

Peretz reportedly learned late in the day about the decision to begin work at the site. Apparently the move was not thoroughly coordinated with him.

On Wednesday, Olmert's military secretary, Major General Gad Shamni, and Peretz's military secretary, Brigadier General Eitan Dangot, discussed the project and Peretz's objections.

The Jerusalem police and other security officials preferred that a new bridge to the Mugrabi gate not be built, but rather that the existing walkway be restored, Haaretz has learned. The police were concerned that Muslim elements in Israel and abroad would use the work at the site to stir up accusations against Israel. Only when the ostensible complexities came to light of the engineering work to restore the ramp, which had been declared a dangerous structure, and only when the Israel Antiquities Authority made clear that even rehabilitation of the old structure would entail the construction of numerous concrete supports and would also require a salvage dig, did the authorities come to terms with and agree to the need for a new bridge.

The decision-making process went on for over a year.

Haaretz also learned that the Waqf (the Muslim religious trust), which so far has not been involved in the public disturbances over the new bridge, has been fully briefed by the police on the plan now underway, although not at the level of coordination or obtaining consent.

The Waqf, as opposed to the branches of the Islamic Movement, has made do meanwhile with verbal protests against the work.

An official involved in contacts said Israel is not confirming that the plans were presented to the Waqf so as not to cut off a channel of communication between the police and the Waqf that has been open for years.