Israel Mulls Webcast Of Holy Site

JERUSALEM — The Israel Antiquities Authority is considering broadcasting a real-time, 24-hour Internet video from a Jerusalem holy site in a bid to allay Muslims' fears the shrine will be harmed by recently launched repair work, an authority spokeswoman said yesterday.

Israel says it needs to replace a centuries-old earthen ramp leading to the hilltop compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, which was damaged heavily in a 2004 snowstorm. It has promised the work would cause no harm to Islamic shrines at the site, some 60 yards away, but those assurances have not calmed some Muslims' outrage over the project.

Lawmaker Israel Hasson said he proposed installing cameras at the site so "all the Arab world would be able to see everything that goes on there."