JERUSALEM - A planned ultra-right Jewish march and protest today involving
the Temple Mount had tensions near boiling point between Israelis and
Palestinian Muslims. Today marks the commemoration of the Roman destruction
of the Jewish temple at the site, and one Israeli ultra-nationalist group
wanted to place a new cornerstone at the temple to mark the event. But noting
that the commemoration would enflame Muslims who also revere the site,
Israel's high court upheld a decision Wednesday to ban the Temple Mount
Faithful from the ceremony - saying it could only display the marble stone
near the compound. Still, Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction called for a "day of
rage" and urged Palestinians to mass today at the holy site, known to Muslims
as al-Haram al-Sharif, to thwart any attempt to carry the 4.5-ton cornerstone
into the compound. Abdul Malek Daraushe, an Israeli Arab in the parliament,
warned the Temple Mount Loyalists last night not to "dare to approach Temple
Mount" - unless they want to court "disaster." Jerusalem police last night
were also geared up for a possible clash. "We will recruit all the necessary
police force to prevent any clash, and any illegal move by any side," said
Miki Levi, chief commander of the police in Jerusalem. "I promise you, [the
cornerstone] will remain outside the Old Walls of Jerusalem." Meanwhile,
Israel challenged the Palestinian Authority yesterday to do more to stop
guerrilla bomb-makers after Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a
building allegedly used by Palestinians to produce arms.
