Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi thereupon announced that he would lead a large Arab delegation to Friday prayers on Temple Mount. Located in the Old City of Jerusalem, the compound is the traditional site of the anicent Jewish Temples and houses the al-Aqsa Mosque; it is the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest for Muslims.
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On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Jewish members of the Knesset and other government ministers are forbidden from visiting the Temple Mount due to the recent increase in violence in Jerusalem and across the country.
Thirteen of Israel’s 120 MPs are Arabs. Under a longstanding arrangement administered by Islamic authorities, Jews are allowed to visit the site during certain hours but not pray there.
Netanyahu gave his directive during a security consultation last week, prior to his departure for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and mentioned it during a subsequent cabinet meeting, the official said. Palestinians have held dozens of protests across Israel and the West Bank and have carried out several terrorist attacks. “We don’t attack anyone and we want [Israelis] to stop attacking us, we want them not to enter Al-Aqsa”, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters on Thurs., referencing to the Al-Aqsa Mosque complicated, which is moreover referred to as the Temple Mount.
Now Muslim leaders are insisting that the Temple Mount belongs to Muslims only and that Jews must not visit.
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“It has been chose to limit the age of worshippers allowed entry to the Temple Mount to men over 50”, a statement said Thursday, using the site’s Hebrew name. Israelis and Palestinians have been injured or killed. The step was meant to reduce tensions and deny Palestinians a pretext for the continuing wave of terror.The step boomeranged after the Prime Minister’s Office clarified Thursday that the order applied to Arab lawmakers and public figures as well as Jewish ministers and lawmakers.
