An appeal has been filed with the High Court for the immediate suspension of Muslim work on the Foundation Stone, the holiest place on the Temple Mount, the holiest Jewish site in the world.

The Makor Rishon newspaper revealed last week that the Muslim Waqf, which has been given authority over the Temple Mount by the Israeli government, has violated all previous bonds of propriety and erected scaffolding on the Rock itself, known in Hebrew as the Even HaShtia (pronounced EH-ven HaShtee-AH).

The Waqf is carrying out renovations in the Dome of the Rock mosque, which was built over the Foundation Stone.

The Stone is considered the place where Adam, Noah and Abraham carried out their sacrifices, and it is the spot where the Jewish High Priest (Kohen Gadol) entered the Holy of Holies just once a year, on Yom Kippur.

The Temple Mount Faithful has appealed to the High Court to order a halt to the desecrations and what it has called the complete insensitivity to Jews.

The Islamic Waqf has desecrated “the heart of the heart of the Temple Mount and has damaged the sensitivities of the Jewish People,” the petition stated.

Quoting a poet, it added, “There are people with a heart of stone and there are stones with the heart of man.”

The petition also calls for the Chief Rabbinate to intervene to ensure there is no further desecration.