Israel's Knesset postpones vote on Anti-Adhan bill

By Anees Barghouti

JERUSALEM

The Israeli government on Wednesday postponed scheduled votes in the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) on two controversial bills -- one that would ban the use of loudspeakers for broadcasting the Muslim call to prayer and a second that would legalize Jewish-only settlements built in the occupied West Bank, local media has reported.

According to Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that -- due to a failure to obtain the necessary support for both bills -- the Knesset vote would be postponed to next week.

"The ‘Muezzin law’, which aims to bar mosques from using loudspeakers for the call to prayer in occupied East Jerusalem and Israel, will be put to a vote in the Knesset next Monday," the newspaper reported.

Netanyahu has claimed the bill enjoys wide popular support, while Palestinians have roundly condemned it as a violation of Palestinians’ right to worship freely.

"Meanwhile, the Regulation Bill, which aims to legalize Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including the Amona outpost, will be put to vote the same day," the paper added.

Israel's High Court two weeks ago rejected a government request to delay the eviction of Jewish settlers from an illegal outpost -- dubbed the Amona outpost -- built on Palestinian land in the West Bank.