JERUSALEM
By Alaa Rimawi
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday denied reports about plans by the Knesset (parliament) to discuss a bill aimed at dividing the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound between Muslims and Jews.
Netanyahu's spokesman Ofir Gendleman described allegations about plans by the Knesset to debate a bill about dividing the holy site between Muslims and Jews as "baseless".
He said that Israel will continue to uphold the status quo in the holy sites in Jerusalem.
The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowments and Heritage, a Palestinian NGO, has claimed that the Knesset was planning to discuss a draft law next month aimed at partitioning the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound between Muslims and Jews.
In recent months, groups of extremist Jewish settlers – often accompanied by Israeli security forces – have repeatedly forced their way into East Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
The frequent violations anger Palestinian Muslims and occasionally lead to violent confrontations.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.
In September 2000, a visit to the site by controversial Israeli leader Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada" – a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
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