Israeli PM bars lawmakers, ministers from al-Aqsa mosque compound

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the police to ban visits by Israeli lawmakers and ministers to Jerusalem's flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound, Israeli government officials confirmed to Xinhua on Thursday.

The move aims at calming the spiking tensions between Palestinians and Jews and reducing the level of Palestinian violence.

Over the past month clashes have shaken the compound which is holy to both Muslims and Jews.

Netanyahu's decision followed recommendation of the National Security Council, which warned that high-profile visits by Jewish politicians are a "dangerous provocation" that could set off a "powder keg."

Israel's Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel slammed the decision as "unacceptable." Ariel's visit to the compound ahead of the Jewish New Year triggered the first clashes at the site.

Ariel was quoted in the past as saying that he wants to rebuild the Jewish temple at the site. "We pray for this three times a day ... I hope that one day the sovereignty [at the site] will be hundred percent Israeli," he said.

Jews revere the compound, which was destroyed in 70 A.D., as the site of their second temple. It's also the third holiest site in Islam.

The recent clashes were triggered by an increasing number of visits by Israeli far-right activists, as part of their struggle to cancel a long-held ban on Jewish prayers there. Palestinians say Israel is violating a status quo agreement from 1967, which allows Jews to visit the site but prohibits them to pray.

In a bid to ease tensions on Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged for calm saying his people has no interest in further escalation.

On Wednesday, the violence around the site spilled over to Israel, with three stabbing attacks in annexed East Jerusalem and Israel that resulted in least seven Israelis wounded.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been injured during clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank over the past weeks, according to Palestinian media.

Israeli human rights group Yesh Din reported an increasing number of attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians and their property, with dozens of incidents of stoning Palestinian cars and homes and torching olive trees and crops.

Also on Wednesday, the White House expressed deep concerns over the escalating tensions in the West Bank and Jerusalem, urging "all parties to take affirmative steps to restore calm, and refrain from actions and rhetoric that would further escalate tensions." Endit