Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will soon make a decision on whether to allow Knesset members to resume their privileges of ascending to the Temple Mount, as do regular citizens.
For nearly a year, Israeli lawmakers have been banned from the site by an edict issued by the prime minister in order to minimize tensions with Arab agitators.
The Jerusalem District Police Commander recommended Tuesday that Knesset members and Israeli ministers again be allowed to ascend the Temple Mount, according to a report by Channel 2 news.
A spokesperson for the prime minister said Netanyahu will “soon convene the relevant security officials, listen to their position and then make a decision. Until then there is no change in policy,” he said.
Likud MK Yehuda Glick, who has been a Temple Mount activist, said, “The recommendation is needed after a year in which a record number of Jews have ascended the Temple Mount, and a record quiet has been” at the site. “I call on the prime minister and the Speaker of the Knesset to adopt the recommendation.”
However, Glick also warned any lawmakers who decide to ascend to the Temple Mount to be “careful to obey the instructions of the police, to behave responsibly and in so doing, to contribute to transforming the site into a world center of peace.”
Glick appealed to his fellow lawmakers “not to exploit ascending the Temple Mount to advance an agenda, or, God forbid, to provoke or incite.”
Bayit Yehudi MK Shuli Mualem Refaeli likewise praised the police recommendation, “blessing” the police understanding that lawmakers ascending to the site “is not the reason for violence and terrorism.”
The lawmaker added, “Arab incitement continues [regardless of whether Mks are there or not] and it is pointless to prevent Mks from ascending [to the Temple Mount.] I expect police to take an extra step and remove restrictions on religious freedom of expression for Jews, allowing them to pray at the holy site. I expect the prime minister to accept the recommendation of the police as a trusted source, and to remove the restriction on MKs.”
