Arab, Israeli ministers outraged by Netanyahu’s decision to ban politicians

(MENAFN – Qatar News Agency)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has banned ministers and Members of the Knesset from visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque following a recommendation from the National Security Council. “Tomorrow we will all be at the al-Aqsa mosque, because this is our mosque”. Netanyahu has long denied such intentions. He said the ban concerned the Jewish and Arab MPs.

“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. Under this “status quo” agreement, non-Muslims are permitted to visit the site but not to pray there.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday warned against religious incitement on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, saying Israel and the Palestinians were “sitting on a volcano”.

Now Muslim leaders are insisting that the Temple Mount belongs to Muslims only and that Jews must not visit.

Rivlin also made reference to the radical northern branch of the Hamas-linked Islamic Movement in Israel, and others accused of orchestrating a few of the violence at the site. Four Israelis have been killed in that time and more than a dozen were injured.

“Given the current escalation [of violence] in the security situation, those with a licensed firearm who know what to do with it must go out with [their weapon] – it’s an imperative”, Mr Barkat told Israel’s Army Radio, describing the move “like military reserve duty”.

He added, “It’s difficult to understand why out of all people, our prime minister, who works so hard to calm the tension, is preventing members of the Knesset who come to the Mount out of basic human need and is allowing those who encourage disobeying the law”.

UPDATE: After a firestorm of controversy and sharp criticism from government ministers over the ban, both from his own coalition and from opposition members, Netanyahu has announced he will extend it to include Arab MKs as well.

Ariel said the prohibition “may be seen by the rioters and terrorists as capitulation to their demands, and will, of course, increase rather than decrease terror”, according to Walla, an Israeli news site.