Arab MKs: lifting Temple Mount ban irrelevant, order ignored anyway

2 July 2017, 4:29 pm

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Knesset members belonging to Israel’s Islamic Movement say Netanyahu’s lifting of an 18-month ban barring lawmakers from visiting the Temple Mount is inconsequential as they do not heed Israeli-imposed restrictions on the site.

“Our visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque as Arab and Muslim members of Knesset was not and will never be linked to the government or prime minister of Israel,” the MKs say in a statement. “The Al-Aqsa Mosque is a holy place for us as Muslims and it’s our right to be able to visit and pray there.”

Today, the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement is represented in the Knesset as a party in the Joint (Arab) List faction. Three of the Joint List’s 13 current Knesset members are part of the movement.