In Short
January 05, 2006 Arabs Make Charges Over Temple Mount
JERUSALEM (JTA) - Israel's Islamic Movement accused Jews of secretly building a synagogue under the Al Aksa Mosque.
Movement leader Sheik Raed Salah claimed that Jews have prayed in a five-room complex built under cover of excavations on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, 100 yards from the site of Al Aksa.
Salah has a history of fabricating incendiary charges about the Temple Mount to whip up Muslim anger against Israel.
Israel's Antiquities Authority said his latest salvo had no basis in reality: "Archaeological excavations have never been carried out, and are not being carried out today, under the Temple Mount compound," it said in a statement.
Salah's accusation was echoed by Ikrima Sabri, the Palestinian Authority-appointed mufti of Jerusalem, who said the Temple Mount had never even housed Jewish shrines.
Police Question Potential Candidate
JERUSALEM (JTA) - Israeli police detained a Palestinian Authority parliamentary candidate in Jerusalem.
Mustafa Barghouti, an independent candidate in the Jan. 25 ballot, was taken in for questioning after illegally campaigning in eastern Jerusalem.
Tuesday marked the launch of campaigns in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Rabbi's Son Gets Jail Time for Abuse
JERUSALEM (JTA) - Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Meir Amar, son of Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, to 32 months in prison after he admitted to kidnapping and beating a 17-year-old who had courted his sister, Ayala.
The court decided not to convict Amar's wife, Mazar, even though it said there was a "reasonable basis" to believe she knew of the plot.
Rabbi Amar has denied any knowledge of the case.
His son was ordered to pay the abused youth $8,000 in damages.
