An Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood legislator told the parliament that Arabs around the world should break into Israeli embassies in every country if Israelis visit the Temple Mount. Member of Parliament Subhi Saleh’s colleagues in the party backed his encouragement to violate the diplomatic immunity of embassies.
The Muslim Brotherhood officially is outlawed in Egypt but also is the largest opposition party.
In a heated debate in the parliament over violence at the holy site, Saleh declared, "Embassies have diplomatic immunity but our holy places have divine immunity, so if they enter al-Aqsa, let us enter their embassies.”
He alleged that Jews last week broke into the al-Aksa mosque, located on the Temple Mount. Police allow small groups of Jews to visit the Temple Mount, with the exception of those who they suspect might try to violate Muslim decrees forbidding Jews to pray there.
Police tried to limit the violence last week by forbidding all Jews and tourists from visiting the site and prohibiting Muslim men under the age 50 from arriving.
The Temple Mount is the holiest Jewish site and the third holiest to Muslims, who frequently have rioted and thrown rocks at Jews at the Western Wall (Kotel), who are easy targets because they stand several yards below the Mount. Muslim clerics and Arab leaders often claim that the Holy Temples never existed and that Israel is digging tunnels underneath the site in order to allow a Jewish takeover or to undermine foundations of the al Aksa mosque.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Cabinet Monday that extremist Muslims are “spreading lies” by repeating the allegations.
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