Military

DATE=11/08/00

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=BATTLE FOR JERUSALEM

NUMBER=5-47348

BYLINE=SONJA PACE

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

/// EDS: THE FIRST USE OF THIS REPORT IN ENGLISH IS RESERVED FOR DATELINE THURSDAY ///

INTRO: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is due to meet with President Clinton at the White House on Thursday and is likely to push for an international force that will serve as a buffer between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. In six weeks of street clashes, more than 175 people have been killed, almost all of them Palestinians. The violence erupted after Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited (Sept. 28th) the Temple Mount - known to Muslims as the "haram el-Sharif" - a site in the Old City of Jerusalem that is sacred to Muslims and Jews. V-O-A's Sonja Pace takes us to that sacred site and through the Old City to examine why this place goes to the heart and soul of both Jews and Muslims.

TEXT:

/// MONTAGE OF MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER, CHURCH BELLS, AND HEBREW CHANTS ///

The Muslim call to prayer, the chant of the rabbi and the peal of church bells all ring out - sometimes simultaneously - through the narrow alleys and over the rooftops of the Old City of Jerusalem. For the world's three great monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Jerusalem is a special place, home to some of their most sacred sites. It has been revered and fought over for centuries and is now at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

For the past five-thousand years, this city has seen its share of triumphs and defeats. Built by an ancient tribe known as the Jebusites in 3000 B-C, it was later home to the biblical Kings David, Solomon, and Herod. It is where Jesus Christ was crucified. The city was destroyed at various times, first by the Babylonians, then the Romans, and then the Persians. It was fought over and captured by Christian Crusaders and Muslim Caliphs. It is still fought over today.

/// ARAB YOUTHS CHANTING AND ISRAELI POLICE WARNINGS ///

This scene was played out repeatedly during the violence of the past weeks - crowds of young Palestinians shouting and chanting and Israeli police warning them to disperse.

In an effort to avoid large scale demonstrations and violence, Israeli police have in recent weeks kept Muslim men under the age of 40 from entering the Old City for Friday prayer, but, that only enraged those being kept away

/// YOUNG PALESTINIAN ACT ///

Our people here, they're going to (get) revenge. Jerusalem is going to come back from these young people here. Young men are going to get Jerusalem back where it was before - all the Muslims, all the Muslim "jihad" (eds: holy warriors), they are all Salah-el-Din.

/// END ACT ///

Salah-el-Din - the legendary Muslim leader who captured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 and brought it back under Muslim control. Today's Salah-el-Dins want to take it away from Israeli control.

Jerusalem is also vital to Israeli Jews and for some, like Brigitte, who lives in the Jewish settlement of P'sagot, there is no room for compromise.

/// BRIGITTE ACT - IN HEBREW - IN FULL THEN UNDER TRANSLATION ///

Jerusalem, I think the Arabs understand no less than us, what she means to us. They understand that Jerusalem is the heart of the Jewish people. And without a heart one cannot live. One can shoot a person in the hand, the leg and he will continue to live. But if you shoot a person in the heart, he won't be able to continue to live.

/// END ACT ///

Jerusalem is now under complete Israeli control, ever since Israel captured and then annexed Arab East Jerusalem following the 1967 war, a move never recognized by the international community.

Control over the city, in particular East Jerusalem and the holy sites, has long been the most contentious issue between Jews and Arabs, between Israelis and Palestinians. It has yet to be resolved.

Father Jerome Murphy-O'Connor is a Dominican priest and professor at the French Institute for Biblical and Archeological Studies in Jerusalem. He says problems arise when the group that has control over Jerusalem denies access to others.

/// FATHER MURPHY-O'CONNOR ACT ///

I think it's the very simple factor of denial. When you look back say 100 years then you have Jews, when they wanted to come pray in Muslim Jerusalem there was absolutely no problem at all. When you had Muslims coming from North Africa on their way to Mecca, absolutely no problem. It's only when one group claims it and says to the other group, you may come in only with our permission or when we think it's suitable, then violence builds up. I mean, you had the initial denial of access by the Jordanians. Jews could not come to the "Western Wall" for 20 years, and now Christians can't come in to their churches if there are "security reasons" at major feasts like Christmas and Easter. And Muslims cannot come to pray at Temple Mount for "security reasons" occasionally.

/// END ACT ///

The Temple Mount is almost certain to ignite passion and controversy. It is generally accepted as the site of the ancient Jewish temples built by King Solomon and later rebuilt by King Herod around 20 B.C. The "Western or Wailing Wall" is believed to be the remnant of the outer retaining wall of the temple compound. At the top of the "mount" is a large plateau. This is known to Muslims as "el-haram el-Sharif," the "Noble Sanctuary," which includes the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque. It is Islam's third holiest site, where the Prophet Mohammed was said to have traveled through the night sky from Mecca to Jerusalem.

Inside a small office to one side of the large compound we meet Sheik Mohammed Hussein. He is the Director of Al-Aqsa mosque. He does not deny other religious temples may have existed here but, he says this has been a Muslim holy site for the past 1400 years and wonders why others would try to claim it.

Sheik Mohammed describes the connection of Islam's three holiest sites Mecca, Medina and Al-Aqsa.

/// SHEIK MOHAMMED ACT - IN ARABIC - FADE UNDER ///

He says the three are like a bird. Mecca is the body and Medina and al-Aqsa are the wings. The Sheik says a bird cannot fly without its wings. All three elements are part of one whole.

Walking through the Old City of Jerusalem, it seems that every corner, every alley, every stone is steeped in history.

/// SINGING AND CHANTING FROM HOLY SEPLUCHRE CHURCH ///

Not far from Al-Aqsa is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built around where Jesus Christ is thought to have been crucified and buried.

But Jerusalem is not just a city of churches, mosques, and ancient stones. Today, it has more than 600-thousand inhabitants. It is a place where people live, work, shop, and play.

Ali Qleibo is not shy about his love affair with Jerusalem. It has been his family's home for hundreds of years. He is a professor of fine arts at Al-Quds University, an anthropologist, artist and author and has just completed a book, "Jerusalem in the Heart," which he describes as a very personal, cultural guide to the city. He says the city has undergone many changes since he was a young boy.

/// QLEIBO ACT ///

When I was young, there used to be skin tanners here. It's the skin tanners market and all around the fountain they used to have Afghani and Indian craftsmen, who sharpened knives. That's how I see it. I never see it this modern way with all the cafes and restaurants around it. We now go to my favorite restaurant, where they fix home-style food. it's a beautiful sunny day in Jerusalem.

/// END ACT ///

But for Ali Qleibo and many others here that sense of tranquillity seems like an illusion - especially during the past weeks of daily violence and rising death tolls. (Signed)

NEB/SP/KL/JWH