Israel outlaws Aqsa compound Muslim groups

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon announced Wednesday he has outlawed two Muslim groups active at the volatile Al-Aqsa mosque complex which confront Jewish visitors to the holy Jerusalem site.

Yaalon's office said he had been convinced by Israel's internal security bodies that outlawing the Murabitat and Murabitun, a decision he reached on Tuesday, was necessary in order to "defend the security of the state, the well-being of the public and public order".

The groups, it said, were "a main factor in creating the tension and violence" at the site, venerated by Jews as the Temple Mount, and in Jerusalem at large.

"They engage in inciteful and dangerous activity against tourists, visitors and worshippers at the site, which leads to violence," Yaalon's office said, and "strive to undermine Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount."

The Murabitat and Murabitun are made up of east Jerusalem Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, some of whom are funded by the Islamic Movement's radical northern wing.

They tend to disturb Jewish visitors with cries of "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)" as they see their presence as aimed at bringing to an eventual change in the status of the site, where non-Muslim prayer is prohibited.

"They are linked to -- and frequently guided by -- hostile Islamic organisations," Yaalon's office said.

Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, head of the Islamic Waqf which runs Al-Aqsa, slammed the decision as "totally unacceptable".

"The occupation regime has no right to intervene in Al-Aqsa's matters," he said in a statement.

"Any Muslim who enters Al-Aqsa mosque and prays is a protector of the mosque. Nobody has a right to prevent a Muslim from entering their holy site and praying."

Under the new legal conditions, anyone who organises, finances or participates in the groups' activities could face trial.

Clashes between Palestinians and police at the mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest for Jews as seat of the historic temples, have abated in recent months.

Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound, but Jews are forbidden from praying or displaying national symbols for fear of triggering tensions with Muslim worshippers.

Israel seized east Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, in the Six Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

Source: AFP