TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: More fallout over those excavations.

Temple Mount closed to non-Muslims Sunday
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS Jerusalem Post)


The Temple Mount will be closed to non-Muslim visitors on Sunday and police will restrict the entry of Arabs for the day, after Islamic leaders accused Israel of carrying out an excavation at the holy site, police said.

The unusual weekday restrictions come after Muslim leaders calls on Arabs to visit the site en masse in response to Israeli excavation work near the Mughrabi Gate.

[...]

UPDATE: And still more:

Islamic scholars say Israel violating Aqsa mosque
Sat 3 Feb 2007 14:45:55 GMT

RIYADH, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A Saudi-based body of Islamic scholars on Saturday condemned Israeli archaeological work near the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, saying it was a "blatant violation" of the shrine's sanctity.

"The most serious element is plans to excavate under the walls of the Aqsa Mosque and its underground tunnels," the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy said in a statement carried on Saudi state news agency SPA.

[...]

The charge has also been denied:

Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Jewish holy sites in Israel, said there were no plans to excavate under al-Haram al-Sharif, known to Jews as Temple Mount.