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From the Liveblog of Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Islamic Waqf slams ban on Temple Mount activist groups

9 September 2015, 8:44 pm

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Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, head of the Islamic Waqf, which runs the Temple Mount’s al-Aqsa compound, slams the Defense Ministry’s decision to outlaw two Muslim groups active at the volatile complex.

Female Muslim activists, known as Murabitat, pray outside Temple Mount to protest a government decision banning them from the site during visiting hours, September 2, 2015 (Elhanan Miller/Times of Israel) — Female Muslim activists, known as Murabitat, pray outside the Temple Mount to protest a government decision banning them from the site during visiting hours, September 2, 2015. (Elhanan Miller/Times of Israel)

The move to ban the Murabitat and the Murabitun, who are known to spar with Jewish visitors to the sacred site, is “totally unacceptable,” he says.

“The occupation regime has no right to intervene in al-Aqsa’s matters,” he says in a statement.

“Any Muslim who enters al-Aqsa Mosque and prays is a protector of the mosque. Nobody has a right to prevent a Muslim from entering their holy site and praying,” al-Khatib adds.

— AFP contributed.

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