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Netanyahu slams Arab-Israeli lawmaker's "provocative" visit to Jerusalem's al-Aqsa

Xinhua, October 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Wednesday a visit by an Arab-Israeli lawmaker to Jerusalem's flashpoint al-Aqsa compound, saying such visits are bound to incite more tensions.

Netanyahu said the visit by Basel Ghattas, a Christian lawmaker with the Arab-Jewish Joint List faction, was a "provocation" that could only further "inflame the situation."

The hilltop compound is the third holiest site to Muslims, who revered it as the Noble Sanctuary, and the most sacred site for Jews, who know it as the Temple Mount.

Ghattas' visit to the compound, which has been at the center of a wave Israeli-Palestinian violence, defied a ban Netanyahu set earlier in October, barring lawmakers visits to the site.

Netanyahu said that in accordance with his directive, the police moved Ghattas away from the compound.

"The Temple Mount has been quiet for two weeks. We are making every effort to maintain this quiet," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.

In a bid to preempt a wave of consecutive visits by right-wing Jewish lawmakers, Netanyahu said that he "will not let any parliament member or minister ignite the Temple Mount, and I call on all members of the parliament and public figures in general to act responsibly, especially at this time."

In the morning, Ghattas said on his Facebook page that his visit was aimed at sending a message to the Israeli government. "I am here to tell (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that he has no sovereignty over Jerusalem or al-Aqsa," the lawmaker stated in a video footage.

The visit was the latest in a string of events that stoked more tensions around the site, amidst international efforts to restore calm.

On Tuesday, deputy minister of foreign affairs, Tzipi Hotovely, said it was her "dream to see the Israeli flag flying" over the holy compound in annexed East Jerusalem.

Increased restrictions on Muslims' access to the compound, along with a growing number of visits by right-wing Jewish leaders, triggered a monthlong violence, which have seen 11 Israeli killed in Palestinian attacks and at least 69 Palestinian casualties, who were killed by Israeli security forces. Endit