ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY MOVES STONE FROM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000630 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG IS SUBJECT: ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY MOVES STONE FROM HARAM AL-SHARIF/TEMPLE MOUNT AREA TO THE KNESSET Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On April 5, the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) removed a stone from just outside the southeastern wall of the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount and placed it on the Israeli Knesset grounds. IAA staff assert the stone came from "debris" in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park and consider it a remnant from the Second Temple. The PA Minister of Religious Affairs called on the GOI to return the stone to its original location. The Waqf Director said the land on which the Archaeological Park is located is registered as Islamic Waqf and its contents are the property of the Waqf. The removal of the stone is receiving prominent coverage in the Arab media. END SUMMARY. STONE REMOVAL WITNESSED BY WAQF -------------- ¶2. (C) Waqf Director Azzam al-Khatib told PolSpec that at approximately 10:00 on April 5, a crane lifted a five-ton stone from an area adjacent to the Al-Aqsa mosque, just outside the wall of the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. Azzam emphasized that the land on which the Archaeological Park is located is registered as Islamic Waqf and its contents are the property of the Waqf. According to Azzam, the area from which the stone was removed is the site of an Umayyad period (7th century) castle. Azzam said he wrote a letter to the Israeli police immediately requesting the stone be returned; the police responded verbally they would look into it. Azzam confirmed that there was no prior coordination with the Waqf and said he considers the removal a "theft in broad daylight." ¶3. (C) On April 5, PA Minster of Religious Affairs Jamal Bawatna issued a statement calling on the GOI to return the stone, and asked international organizations to work towards its restoration. He too characterized the land from which it was removed as Islamic Waqf. ¶4. (C) Israeli-Arab member of the Knesset Jamal Zahalqa, in a letter to Speaker of the Knesset Reuvan Rivlin, said he does not accept IAA claims that the stone was part of the Second Temple. Zahalqa asserts it was part of an Umayyad building and called upon UNESCO and Arab and Muslim countries to support preserving Jerusalem's Islamic heritage. DIFFERING VIEWS OF THE STONE'S HISTORY -------------- ¶5. (C) On April 7, IAA staffers John Seligman and Hava Katz told POLOFF that the stone is "debris" pulled from the Jerusalem Archaelogical Park, south of the al-Aqsa Mosque and was not part of any Umayyad structure. Noting the stone's well-defined Herodian (1st century BCE) characteristics, they asserted the stone is from the Second Temple (destroyed in 70 CE). They acknowledged that many Umayyad structures re-used Herodian stones, but they asserted that the one removed was not part of any existing ruins. Katz said the stone "looked nicer" than other Herodian stones, and will be placed in a new Knesset park, set to open May 15, that contains archaelogical finds from different periods of Jerusalem's history. According to Katz, the park is a "long-term project," meaning it will stay in place at least five to ten years, after which the IAA will determine whether to leave the stone artifacts in place or place them in storage. ¶6. (C) On April 7, Waqf Director of Archaeology and Tourism Yusuf al-Natshah, who also witnessed the removal, told POLOFF that removing artifacts from an archaeological site violates basic excavation practices. The ambiguity of the stone's origin underscores this principle, Al-Natshah said; the Israeli assertion of the stone's Herodian origins does not negate an Ummayad history, since stones were often reused through the years. Al-Natshah underscored his concerns about the dangerous symbolism of this removal. MEDIA COVERAGE -------------- ¶7. (SBU) On April 6, Al-Quds published a story on the stone's removal and photos of the crane lifting it out of its original location. The April 7 edition of Al-Ayyam ran a front page story on the stone's removal with a photo of its new placement just outside the Knesset. Al-Jazeera interviewed IAA's Katz and multiple Arab media have reported the letter written by MK Zahalqa. JERUSALEM 00000630 002 OF 002 WALLES