JERUSALEM — A wall located at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is in danger of collapse, claim city officials and historians, but religious differences could keep it from being repaired. Jerusalem’s mayor, Ehud Olmert, and officials within Israel’s Antiquities Authority warned that a portion of the southern wall is bulging outward from its foundation and could collapse without warning. The wall is located near the western (wailing) wall, a remainder of the retaining walls of the ancient Jewish Temple which is considered sacred by Jews.
However, the Temple Mount area is also home to the al-Aqsa mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam. The Waqf, the Muslim trust that controls the entire site and has closed it to non-Muslims, claims that Israeli concerns over the wall are an attempt to wrestle ownership from them. Israelis argue, however, that construction in the site ordered by Muslims has weakened the ancient wall.
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