Top Muslim cleric demands end to Israeli excavation near holy site

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Holy Land's top Muslim cleric demanded that Israel halt an archaeological project near a central holy site for Muslims and Jews.
Israeli authorities recently unveiled an underground location that strengthens Jewish ties to the site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram as-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary). The site of ancient Jewish Temples now contains Islam's Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock and is revered as the place where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
Israel has conducted archaeological digs nearby since it captured East Jerusalem in 1967. The digs infuriate Palestinians and the Islamic Trust that oversees the mosque complex.
In September, Israel opened a tourist center at an underground site near the compound that showcases a ritual bath from the period of the second Temple (destroyed in A.D. 70) and a wall dating to the first Temple (destroyed in 586 B.C.).
The top Muslim clergyman, or mufti, of Jerusalem, Ikrema Sabri, called the archaeological project this week "aggression" that threatened the mosque compound.
In 1996, Palestinians rioted when Israel opened an archaeological tunnel alongside the compound, and 80 people died. Violence after then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the site in 2000 evolved into years of Palestinian uprisings that killed more than 3,500 Palestinians and more than 1,000 Israelis.