Knesset members entering Al-Aqsa provoke Palestinians
Tensions are simmering over the Israeli prime minister's action to lift the ban on Knesset members visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israelis are taking advantage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent decision to allow Knesset members to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque every three months, angering Palestinians in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Christians, Jews and Muslims all consider the Jerusalem compound holy for their own reasons.
Netanyahu's July 3 decision, which threatens to escalate tensions in the region, comes less than two years after he banned Israeli parliamentarians and ministers from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque because of the deteriorating security situation in the Palestinian territories and Jerusalem.
From late 2015 until 2017, Palestinians carried out individual attacks against Israeli settlers and soldiers using guns, knives and vehicles. Palestinians said they were reacting to ongoing raids on the mosque by Israeli police and settlers.
