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King Abdullah: Muslim-Only Prayers on Temple Mount

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JERUSALEM, Israel -- Jordan's King Abdullah told a visiting group of Arab Israeli Knesset members there should be no right to pray for all non-Muslims on Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

He said the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest site in Islam should be for "Muslim prayer only."

The king also told the delegation he is closely following the Temple Mount clashes between Israeli security forces and Muslim demonstrators and said he plans to raise the issue at the United Nations next week.

Abdullah urged the European Union to take a stand against Israel on the issue, telling E.U. official Donald Tusk, "The international community and the E.U. in particular should adopt a firm position to halt these serious aggressions and violations."

The Israeli Arab delegation's visit angered a number of Israeli officials. Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's former foreign minister, said the members of the group are "busy night and day in anti-Israeli activities and do everything they can to agitate and destabilize the situation in the region and damage Israel."

Knesset member Bezalel Smutrich of the Jewish Home Party called their actions "treason."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a Security Cabinet meeting Sunday and threatened tougher measures against stone throwers on the Temple Mount and in surrounding areas.

A man was killed in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Arnona by stones thrown at his car, and a couple with a baby narrowly escaped in a hail of rocks thrown by masked Palestinians just outside Jerusalem.

Israel gave Jordan authority over the Muslim holy places on the Temple Mount after Israel won back control of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War.

When Jordan had sovereignty over the area from 1948 to 1967, Jewish holy places were desecrated and Jews were forbidden from praying in the area.

The Arab-Israeli delegation of lawmakers is moving on to Turkey, where they will meet with the leaders who are funding their trip. Netanyahu has accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Edogan of helping to incite the violence at the Temple Mount's Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.

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About The Author

John
Waage

John Waage has covered politics and analyzed elections for CBN New since 1980, including primaries, conventions, and general elections. He also analyzes the convulsive politics of the Middle East.