Far-right Israel MP visits Jerusalem mosque compound

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2006

JERUSALEM (AFP) — A far-right Israeli MP has visited Islam's third holiest shrine, drawing angry warnings that the visit to the Jerusalem mosque compound that is also holy to Jews could spark violence. Uri Ariel of the National Union party told AFP Monday that he entered the compound accompanied by police and visited areas adjacent to the mosques where "Jews are allowed to go under Jewish law." Ariel said following his tour of the sensitive site, where according to Jewish tradition the second Temple stood: "The temple is the heart of the Jewish people.

"This is a message of Israel's sovereignty over Temple Mount, and Jews should visit the place," he said. The compound, which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, is where the second Palestinian uprising erupted...