RAMALLAH, 19 February 2007 — Israeli archaeologist Yuval Baruch has revealed that remains of an ancient Muslim prayer room was found under the dirt embankment adjacent to Al-Magharbah Gate in 2004.
The findings, unearthed after part of the embankment collapsed into the Western Wall compound, were kept secret until now. The information was withheld from the world but had been known to some Israeli officials. The findings were revealed in an article posted on the Israel Antiquities Authority’s website by Baruch, who works in the Jerusalem district.
In the article entitled “The real story,” Baruch revealed that when the embankment collapsed near the Al-Magharbah Bridge, a small room with a roofed alcove and a dome was unearthed — a type of Muslim prayer alcove facing south. Some have suggested that these are the remains of a prayer room which was originally part of a school for Muslim studies which operated adjacent to the Al-Magharbah Gate. The remains apparently date back to the 11th century, the Salah El-Din era known as the Ayubi Period and of great significance to the Muslim world. This important finding was kept secret for fear the Muslim community would demand that the site, adjacent to the Western Wall compound, be declared sacred.
One of the Muslim arguments against the Israeli excavations taking place near Al-Magharbah Bridge is that the destruction of the embankment would damage Al-Aqsa Mosque. The findings published by the Antiquities Authority are likely to support that argument.
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Sheikh Muhammad Hussein said that “this indicates that the Israeli excavations at Al-Magharbah Gate are not coincidental. “This is an attempt to hide Islamic evidence from the site.” Adnan Husseini, chairman of the Muslim Wakf in Jerusalem, expressed anger that Israel withheld news of the discovery for three years. “We didn’t hear anything about this,” he said.
The head of the Islamic Movement’s northern branch said that this is a proof that the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a Muslim Wakf. “The Western Wall — all its various parts, structures and gates and all the names these parts, structures and gates are called — is an inseparable part of the Al-Aqsa compound,” declared Islamist leader Sheikh Raed Salah.
The Western Wall “is part of Al-Aqsa’s western tower, which the Israeli government fallaciously and sneakily calls the Wailing Wall. The wall is part of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” asserted Salah.
Meir Ben Dov, an archaeologist and a Jerusalem researcher, expressed his astonishment Saturday in the wake of the findings. “Our irresponsible behavior has provided Sheikh Raed Salah with ammunition,” he said.
