28 August 2017
Activists have called on Palestinians to be present at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City on Tuesday to coincide with a decision allowing Israeli parliament, Knesset, members to enter the compound on the day.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu indicated last week that he will relax a ban on Israeli politicians visiting the Masjid.
The announcement came a month after al Quds was rocked by tension after Israel intensified its control measures at the entrances to the Haram al-Sharif.
An Israeli official confirmed to AFP that Israeli MPs will be permitted to visit the site in a one day ‘trial’.
“In consultation with security officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to open the Temple Mount to MPs’ visits, for one day at this stage, on Tuesday, August 29,” the member of his office said.
“The decision was taken in light of the improvement in the security situation at the site,” he said. “Decisions on the issue will continue to be made in accordance with assessments of the security situation.”
After the first trial visit Tuesday, the Israeli authorities will decide on whether or not to continue allowing regular visits to the site by members of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament).
Netanyahu instructed police in October 2015 to bar MPs from visiting the site in the Old City of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, in a bid to calm tensions over allegations of Israeli takeover plans for Masjid al Aqsa.
Palestinians had accused Israel of attempting to alter the site’s historical system of prayer and visiting rights, referred to as the “status quo”.
Ruling party politician Yehuda Glick, who has called for the re-establishment of a Jewish temple in the Al-Aqsa complex, has actively pressured the government to allow visits to resume.
MKs Glick (Likud) and Shuli Mualem-Refaeli were stopped by police while attempting to enter al Aqsa last week.
“I’m here to protest the fact that the prime minister won’t enable police to allow us to enter the Temple Mount,” Glick told journalists at the site.
In 2014, a Palestinian attempted to assassinate Glick, telling him, right before pulling the trigger, that he was “an enemy of al-Aqsa”.
Following discussions with Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, the prime minister decided in early July that the ban on MKs going to al Aqsa would be lifted for a period of seven days to assess the fallout from the move — though it was later announced, the trial period had been reduced to a single day.
The permission comes after Glick filed a petition to the High Court of Justice against the ban.
In responding to the announcement, Glick indicated his petition would not be withdrawn. “The prime minister must inform the High Court by September 15 why he does not allow lawmakers to ascend the Temple Mount.”
