Murder on the Temple Mount

The July 21 1951 news report in the Guardian: 

King Abdullah of Jordan was assassinated by an Arab yesterday at the entrance to the El Aqsa Mosque, in the Old City of Jerusalem. The assassin, who had hidden behind the main gate of the mosque, shot at close range and was himself immediately shot dead by the King's bodyguard. 

The King, who was 69, died instantly. His elder son, the Emir Talal, is undergoing medical treatment abroad, and in his absence the younger son, Prince Naif, took the oath of allegiance as Regent at a meeting of the Council of Ministers. The King's body was flown to the capital, Amman, and will be buried in the Royal Cemetery on Monday. A state of emergency has been proclaimed throughout the country. 

The assassin is reported to have been identified as Mustafa Shukri Ashshu, a 21-year-old tailor in the Old City. During the Arab-Jewish war he was a member of the "dynamite squad" attached to the Arab irregular forces which were associated with the ex-Mufti of Jerusalem and became bitter enemies of Abdullah. Information was received at the Jordan Legation in London last night that several men were concerned in the crime.   Read more.....

Battle over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

MUCH OF THE PRESENT VIOLENCE IN AND AROUND JERUSALEM IS A RAGING BATTLE OVER WHO WILL BE ALLOWED TO WORSHIP ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT AND  IN WHAT NUMBERS.  WITH MUSLIMS SAYING THAT JEWS PLAN TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MUSLIMS ALLOWED ON THE SITE AND BUILD A NEW JEWISH TEMPLE THERE ON THE SITE OF AN OLD ONE.  NEITHER OF THESE RUMORS ARE TRUE. HOWEVER IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED THAT THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE MOUNT IS  NOT ONLY HOME TO THE AL-AQSA MOSQUE (IT'S MOST PROMINENT STRUCTURE) BUT TO AT LEAST TWO OTHER HOLY SITES INCLUDING THE "DOME OF THE ROCK" AND "DOME OF THE CHAIN"!  IT MUST ALSO BE NOTED THAT THE TEMPLE MOUNT'S EARLIEST RELIGIOUS SITE WAS JEWISH FOLLOWED BY CHRISTIAN AND MOST RECENTLY ISLAM.  THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL ALLOWS ALL THESE GROUPS TO WORSHIP THERE TODAY, BUT I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT WOULD CEASE SHOULD CONTROL OF THAT MOST HOLY SITE EVER FALL INTO MUSLIM HANDS.  THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL KNOW THIS EVEN IF MOST OF THE REST OF THE WORLD DOESN'T!  OR SADLY, THE WORLD KNOWS AND DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN!  

BY Ron Russell