A group of Israeli Knesset MKs and senior members of Israeli right wing factions visited the Palestinian city of Jericho under heavy Israeli security protection, Quds Press reported yesterday.
The MKs coordinated their visit with the Palestinian Authority (PA), who briefly stopped them before letting them continue on their way to a historic synagogue in the city.
MK Bezalel Smotrich from the Jewish Home party, hardliner MK Yehuda Glick – who has in the past stormed Al-Aqsa with groups of settlers – and others from Likud and Jewish Home joined the visit.
Earlier this month Smotrich developed a plan which was later approved by the right wing alliance, the National Union, to annex the West Bank and “assist” Palestinian emigration.
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Israeli TV reported that the MKs and senior officials of right wing Israeli parties received a detailed explanation about the Jewish synagogue after performing a Jewish prayer inside it.
Smotrich said that the visit aimed to “support settlements”. He added: “This is my first visit to the Jewish synagogue in Jericho… this area is full of Jewish history.”
Jericho is part of Area A, which is under the full control of the PA according to the Peace Accords signed between the Palestinians and Israel in 1993. Israelis are banned from entering.
Right wing Israeli Jews have been working for years to regain control over synagogues in Jericho.
The Israeli newspaper Maariv has revealed that there is an agreement between the PA and Israel which stipulates that Israelis are allowed to enter the synagogues; the PA does not prevent them.
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