Named after the 19th-century British explorer and archaeologist Charles William Wilson, Wilson’s Arch is located at the northern end of the Western Wall, and prayer services frequently take place in the area underneath it. Israeli scientists have recently made a breakthrough in pinpointing its date of construction, using radiocarbon dating and the emerging techniques of microarchaeology. The Public Library of Science reports:

Radiocarbon dating has rarely been used in archaeological explorations of the Classical and post-Classical age in the Eastern Mediterranean (approximately the 8th century BCE through the 6th century CE).

Wilson’s Arch [was part] of the “Great Causeway,” an ancient bridge linking Jerusalem’s Temple Mount to the houses of Jerusalem’s upper city. [It] has been the subject of much scholarly debate, with construction dates suggested from the time of Herod the Great [the 1st century CE], Roman colonization, or even the early Islamic period in Jerusalem (a span of about 700 years).

The authors [of a new study] were able to narrow the dates of construction for the initial Great Causeway bridge structure as having occurred between 20 BCE and 20 CE, during the reign of Herod the Great or directly after his death. They also discovered a second stage of construction: between 30 CE and 60 CE, the bridge doubled in size as Wilson’s Arch in its current form was finalized. There is evidence that, during this period of direct Roman rule, the Romans began or expanded on many building projects around Jerusalem, including an aqueduct supplying the Temple Mount with water.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.