MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli of the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) faction visited the Temple Mount on Tuesday.
The visit was motivated by the decision to bar MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) from visiting the site, she said. “I couldn’t bear the shame of ascent to the mount having been banned.”
The phrase “security concerns” has been manipulated to create an excuse for preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount “and walking freely there,” she accused.
The Temple Mount is the holiest place on earth according to the Jewish religion. It is also the home of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and several Muslim groups have expressed upset over the limited Jewish presence at the site.
Feiglin had planned to visit the Temple Mount on Monday, but received a call Sunday from a senior police official informing him that his visit would not be allowed. “He informed me that I would not be allowed to enter the Mount at the direct order of the Prime Minister,” Feiglin said.
The Justice Ministry later issued a statement saying that Feiglin was banned “based on his previous behavior,” and that allowing him to visit the Temple Mount “is likely to cause potential security damage to the state.”