Israeli officials believe that freshmen Democratic Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar will seek to visit the Temple Mount during their upcoming visit to Israel, Channel 13 News correspondent Barak Ravid reported.
According to the report, the congresswomen are expected to visit the holy with together with a delegation of officials from the Palestinian Authority. However, the Israeli police have been instructed to prevent any PA officials from visiting the site with them.
Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer announced several weeks ago that Tlaib and Omar would be allowed to enter Israel despite their repeated anti-Israel statements and support for the BDS movement. An Israeli law bans supporters of boycotts against the Jewish State from entering the country. However, the government has decided to set the law aside in the case of the American Congresswomen.
Omar has come under fire for suggesting on Twitter that Republicans were attacking her at the behest of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. She subsequently issued a half-hearted apology before ultimately deleting the controversial tweets.
Tlaib claimed in an interview in May that Palestinian Arabs living in the British Mandate prior to the establishment of the State of Israel “provided” a safe haven to Jews after the Holocaust.
The Temple Mount is often a source of friction between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan.
On Sunday, riots took place on the Temple Mount as Muslim agitators attempted to prevent Jews from visiting the mount, the holiest site in Judaism, on the fast of Tisha B'Av, the anniversary of the destruction of the holy temples.
This year, Tisha B'Av coincided with the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.