The special committee investigating the Aug. 21 El Aksa mosque fire will submit its report to Premier Golda Meir next week, it was learned today. Its contents will not be made public until Mrs. Meir returns from her official visit to the United States next month. Sections of the report which might incriminate the suspected arsonist, Denis Michael William Rohen, will be withheld until after his trial.
Repairs to the fire-damaged wing of the mosque will begin next week under the supervision of an Egyptian engineer, JTA learned from reliable sources. He is Abdul Moneim Abdul Wahab who served as architectural supervisor of the mosque during the Jordanian occupation of East Jerusalem. He did not return to Cairo until some time after the June, 1967 Six-Day War. Israeli security authorities are said to have raised no objections to his return to supervise the repair work.
The mosque will be open for prayers tomorrow after debris from the fire is cleared away. The damaged area will be separated from the main hall by carpets. Israel’s Minister for Religious Affairs, Zerach Warhaftig, said yesterday that even the slightest hint that Israel was responsible for the fire contained “an element of viciousness.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
