lennart
07-08-03, 14:56
Police block Likud MK Hazan from going up to Temple Mount
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Police officers physically blocked Likud MK Yehiel
Hazan from going up to the Temple Mount twice on
Thursday morning. The second time came after
police spent half an hour explaining to him that
he would be endangering himself as well as the
people gathered to pray at the Western Wall, below
the Temple Mount. Hazan said he remained
unconvinced, but eventually left the area.
Hazan, who heads the Yesha [West
Bank and Gaza] lobby in the
Knesset, arrived at the Western
Wall plaza Thursday morning and
repeated his determination to
go up to the Mount, but police
told him he was not allowed to
go up due to "security
considerations." He waved his
Knesset member identity card,
but police officers told him it didn't give him
the license to visit the Mount. Police have
warned that a visit to the holiest site in
Judaism and one of the holiest in Islam could
lead to severe rioting and bloodshed.
The Waqf, or Muslim religious trust, called
Thursday on all Palestinians and Muslims in
Israel to "protect the Mount from attempts of
Jewish extremists to force their way into the
compound."
The Waqf's announcement, which Itim reported was
published in Palestinian media, comes on the
heels of Hazan's decision to visit the Temple
Mount on Thursday, which is Tisha B'Av, the
traditional Jewish day of mourning for the
destruction of the First and Second Temples.
As police gathered around Hazan to keep him from
going up to the Mount, he repeated his claim
that no police officer has discussed the
situation with him or expressly asked him not
to go up. Hazan told police that if they cared
about democracy and the rule of law, they would
explain their reasons.
Police at first refused to provide details, but
then took him away from the mob of supporters,
protesters and media to explain the security
considerations involved. Some people called out
to Hazan, "All honor to you," while others
asked why he was being provocative. At that
point, Hazan said he was not convinced and
tried unsuccessfully a second time to go up to
the Mount.
Hazan maintains that no member of the security
services had spoken directly to him about his
decision to head up the Mount prior to his
arrival at the Western Wall on Thursday. He
told Israel Radio that Public Security Minister
Tzachi Hanegbi asked him not to go on Tisha
B'Av, but said he didn't think a visit would
lead to security trouble.
"Just as I walk freely throughout Israel, I will
go up to the Temple Mount," Hazan said.
Likud MK Inbal Gavrieli said Thursday that she
would not visit the Temple Mount that day,
despite her declaration Wednesday that "I will
go up to the Temple Mount, period."
Gavrieli said Thursday she was persuaded by
senior security officials who gave her
"specific information" Wednesday night
indicating that an attempt to go up to the
Temple Mount could create serious
disturbances.
"If it's a matter of going up to the Temple
Mount at the expense of human life just so I
can say I kept my word, then I can live with
[my decision not to go]," Gavrieli told Israel
Radio on Thursday.
She added that her decision does not reflect a
change in her underlying beliefs, saying, "This
constitutes no, but no, concession in principle
over the right to go up to the Temple Mount."
MKs from the left as well as Shinui ministers
attacked the MKs' decision to visit the Temple
Mount at this time. Interior Minister Avraham
Poraz (Shinui) said Wednesday, "It would be a
provocation that should not be allowed." He
said that then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon's
visit to the site was a mistake, "and although
it wasn't the reason for the intifada, the MKs
who want to go to the Temple Mount apparently
believe that with their provocation they can
foil the political process they object to."
National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky
said, "Apparently there are some MKs who are
sick and tired of the quiet and they want to
reignite the intifada."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/326404.html
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Police officers physically blocked Likud MK Yehiel
Hazan from going up to the Temple Mount twice on
Thursday morning. The second time came after
police spent half an hour explaining to him that
he would be endangering himself as well as the
people gathered to pray at the Western Wall, below
the Temple Mount. Hazan said he remained
unconvinced, but eventually left the area.
Hazan, who heads the Yesha [West
Bank and Gaza] lobby in the
Knesset, arrived at the Western
Wall plaza Thursday morning and
repeated his determination to
go up to the Mount, but police
told him he was not allowed to
go up due to "security
considerations." He waved his
Knesset member identity card,
but police officers told him it didn't give him
the license to visit the Mount. Police have
warned that a visit to the holiest site in
Judaism and one of the holiest in Islam could
lead to severe rioting and bloodshed.
The Waqf, or Muslim religious trust, called
Thursday on all Palestinians and Muslims in
Israel to "protect the Mount from attempts of
Jewish extremists to force their way into the
compound."
The Waqf's announcement, which Itim reported was
published in Palestinian media, comes on the
heels of Hazan's decision to visit the Temple
Mount on Thursday, which is Tisha B'Av, the
traditional Jewish day of mourning for the
destruction of the First and Second Temples.
As police gathered around Hazan to keep him from
going up to the Mount, he repeated his claim
that no police officer has discussed the
situation with him or expressly asked him not
to go up. Hazan told police that if they cared
about democracy and the rule of law, they would
explain their reasons.
Police at first refused to provide details, but
then took him away from the mob of supporters,
protesters and media to explain the security
considerations involved. Some people called out
to Hazan, "All honor to you," while others
asked why he was being provocative. At that
point, Hazan said he was not convinced and
tried unsuccessfully a second time to go up to
the Mount.
Hazan maintains that no member of the security
services had spoken directly to him about his
decision to head up the Mount prior to his
arrival at the Western Wall on Thursday. He
told Israel Radio that Public Security Minister
Tzachi Hanegbi asked him not to go on Tisha
B'Av, but said he didn't think a visit would
lead to security trouble.
"Just as I walk freely throughout Israel, I will
go up to the Temple Mount," Hazan said.
Likud MK Inbal Gavrieli said Thursday that she
would not visit the Temple Mount that day,
despite her declaration Wednesday that "I will
go up to the Temple Mount, period."
Gavrieli said Thursday she was persuaded by
senior security officials who gave her
"specific information" Wednesday night
indicating that an attempt to go up to the
Temple Mount could create serious
disturbances.
"If it's a matter of going up to the Temple
Mount at the expense of human life just so I
can say I kept my word, then I can live with
[my decision not to go]," Gavrieli told Israel
Radio on Thursday.
She added that her decision does not reflect a
change in her underlying beliefs, saying, "This
constitutes no, but no, concession in principle
over the right to go up to the Temple Mount."
MKs from the left as well as Shinui ministers
attacked the MKs' decision to visit the Temple
Mount at this time. Interior Minister Avraham
Poraz (Shinui) said Wednesday, "It would be a
provocation that should not be allowed." He
said that then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon's
visit to the site was a mistake, "and although
it wasn't the reason for the intifada, the MKs
who want to go to the Temple Mount apparently
believe that with their provocation they can
foil the political process they object to."
National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky
said, "Apparently there are some MKs who are
sick and tired of the quiet and they want to
reignite the intifada."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/326404.html