Knesset Panel Upholds Ban on MKs on Temple Mount

The Jerusalem Post reports: The Knessett Ethics Committee decided on Tuesday that MKs will not be permitted to visit the Temple Mount, despite a framework drawn up by the police allowing them to do so.

At the request of Ethics Committee member MK Youssef Jabareen (Joint List), the committee reviewed the ban which it had implemented on November 2, following a police warning that visits to the holy site by politicians could provoke violence.

Police Jerusalem District head Asst.-Ch. Yoram Halevy gave the Ethics Committee an overview of security on the Temple Mount, and said that in light of the relative calm in Jerusalem, the police is considering a plan whereby Arab MKs will be allowed to ascend the Temple Mount the last week of Ramadan, and after the Muslim holy month, all lawmakers would be allowed to visit the site.

However, Halevy said that at the moment, the police recommendation has not changed.

Three of the four Ethics Committee members then voted not to change the earlier decision – that ascending the Temple Mount would be considered an ethical violation.