April 6 1998

ARTICLE TOOLS

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The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, site of Jewish temples in biblical times and the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque today, may be in danger of collapse.

Archaeologist Shimon Gibson of the London-based Palestine Exploration Fund says the network of 49 cisterns under the 11-acre platform has been neglected for decades and may be responsible for cracks that have appeared in walls of the compound.

Gibson believes water may be settling into cracks and deteriorating the limestone. However, his concerns are not shared by most archaeologists or Muslim authorities. Gibson believes a collapse might occur during the Muslim season of Ramadan, when the Haram al Sharif, as it is known to Muslims, is filled with thousands of worshipers every Friday.

Zionists have long awaited the destruction of the Muslim Dome of the Rock, which they believe might foreshadow rebuilding the temple.

Thomas Ice, executive director of the Pre-Trib Research Center in Washington, D.C., and coauthor of the new book Fast Facts on Bible Prophecy (Harvest House), says reconstruction of the temple is "politically impossible" today. "But it was politically impossible for the Jews to return to their land, and it happened."