Netanyahu has issued the order against lawmakers and ministers in a bid to ease tensions after weeks of unrest. Arab lawmakers' planned visit on Friday, when many Muslims attend weekly prayers there, will test enforcement of the ban.
"Neither Netanyahu nor the right will be able to stop us from entering our Al-Aqsa mosque," Israeli Arab MP Ahmed Tibi said on Thursday, calling the ban "senseless and illegal".
Thirteen of Israel's 120 MPs are Arabs.
The Al-Aqsa compound has seen repeated clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian youths in recent weeks.
Provocative visits by Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel as well as by Israeli Arab lawmakers have added to the volatility.
The Al-Aqsa compound is the third-holiest site in Islam.
Muslims fear Israel will seek to change rules governing the site, which allow Israeli Jews to visit but not pray to avoid provoking tensions. Netanyahu has said repeatedly he is committed to the status quo.
An increase in visits by Israeli Jews during a series of Jewish holidays in recent weeks has added to tensions.
The site is located in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
AFP
ahram.org.eg
8/10/15
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A 19-year-old Palestinian stabbed and seriously wounded an Israeli man in Jerusalem Thursday before being arrested, police said, the latest in a spate of knife attacks on Israelis...
ReplyDeletePolice said the 25-year-old Jewish victim was in a serious condition after being stabbed in the neck near one of Jerusalem's main thoroughfares.
The incident occurred near a tramway station close to the national police headquarters, police said.
The suspect, said to be from Shuafat refugee camp in annexed east Jerusalem, later attacked a tramway guard and tried to take his gun before fleeing. Police initially gave his age as 15 before later correcting it to 19.
"He was arrested by police special forces who were in the area," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.
There has been a series of knife attacks by Palestinians on Israelis in recent days as rioting has spread across east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
At least four knife attacks have occurred in Jerusalem and six overall since Saturday, when a Palestinian killed two Israelis in the Old City, helping prompt an Israeli security crackdown.
Rioting in east Jerusalem and the West Bank has seen youths throwing stones and firebombs face off against security forces firing rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades.
Over the past week, four Israelis have been killed and five Palestinians, three of them after alleged attacks on Israelis.
The unrest has sparked fears of a broader uprising, even a third intifada.
AFP