Israeli Parliament Member Aryeh Eldad from the ultra right-wing National Unity party has submitted a law proposal, which states that only with the government's approval, can corpses be buried on the Temple Mount (Al Aqsa Mosque) compound, in accordance with "Jewish tradition."
By this new suggestion, it seems, Eldad seeks to thwart the alleged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's desire to be buried at Al Aqsa Mosque compound.
MP Aryeh Eldad's draft law, submitted Wednesday, calls for preventing the burial of Muslims on Temple Mount. According to the law proposal, within the borders of the old city, burial will not be permitted without the approval of the Israeli government, the Yediot Aharonot website reported.
The main purpose of this proposal, it appears, is to prevent Arafat from being buried in Al Aqsa, a desire he has expressed in the past. A Palestinian family who owns a graveyard in the site of the western wall of the compound is prepared to offer the Palestinian president the burial plot, when his time comes.
MP Eldad claims that Jewish tradition forbids burial inside the walls.
MP Ahmed Tibi, in response to the law proposal said, "Eldad and his friends not only do not enable us to live, but they also do not permit us to die". Tibi further said that Faisal Husseini, who held the Jerusalem portfolio in the Palestinian Authority, is buried on the Temple Mount. "Israelis should not interfere in the life or death of Yasser Arafat", Tibi said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
