Last week, a block of stone weighing over 200 pounds was dislodged from the Western Wall, falling dangerously close to a worshipper. The causes of the accident are unclear, but David M. Weinberg raises a troubling possibility:

It’s possible, say scientists and archaeologists, that the stone was weakened from its moorings by water that seeped through the soil fill behind the wall or by vegetation growing within the wall itself. But it is also possible that the waqf, the Muslim religious trust that oversees the Temple Mount, caused the near catastrophe [with its] illegal digging projects and unsupervised underground renovations on the Temple Mount. . . .

The Israel Antiquities Authority plans a scan of the southern and eastern sections of the Temple Mount walls, but it has not yet been carried out because everything related to the Temple Mount is diplomatically sensitive. The mere agreement on who is responsible for inspecting and fixing stones is in itself complicated. . . .

The troubles began in 1999, when the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel and the waqf violently and illegally plowed with heavy machinery into the ground below the al-Aqsa mosque to turn [the ancient structure called] “Solomon’s Stables” into a vast underground prayer area, now known as el-Marwani mosque. Without any scientific supervision whatsoever, they bulldozed 9,000 tons of the most valuable dirt on the globe and unceremoniously dumped close to 400 truckloads of it as “garbage” in the Kidron Valley. It’s clear the Islamists were seeking not only to expand their prayer space but purposefully to destroy any traces of Jewish history on and under the Mount.

Furthermore, the waqf has proclaimed its intent to turn the whole Temple Mount plaza—a vast compound—into a prayer zone, thereby precluding any possibility in the future of allocating even a small corner for Jewish prayer. . . . And last month, under the cover of Ramadan (when non-Muslims are banned from the Temple Mount and Israeli police take a step back), hundreds of Muslims actively began picking through the supposedly protected rubble, taking stones to build terraces. . . .

Israel should act with determination to counter Palestinian-Islamic aggression against Jewish history in Jerusalem, and, of course, ensure the stability of Temple Mount walls.

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.