Israeli police have banned several Islamic officials appointed by Jordan from entering a Jerusalem holy site following clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli authorities in recent weeks.
Abdel Azem Salhab, the highest-ranking official in the Jordanian-run council overseeing the site, known as the waqf, said that police handed him and two other Palestinian officials the order on Sunday.
Salhab said police informed him the ban was issued because of his role in opening the Gate of Mercy structure on the Temple Mount, which has been closed by Israeli court order since 2003 because a Hamas-affiliated group had operated there.
The new waqf leadership, comprising officials from Fatah, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, breached the site around three weeks ago, and thousands of worshippers have already prayed there.
Jordan's Religious Affairs Minister Abdel Nasser Abu Albasal condemned the Israeli decision as "a new escalation" meant to disrupt the council's work.
Last week, an Israeli government official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given instructions to enforce the court's order to shut down the Gate of Mercy site "without compromise."
"The political echelon won't allow the site to become a mosque. This directive was passed to the police and this message was delivered to certain authorities and to Jordan as well," the official said.
