Netanyahu backs bill that prevents mosques from calling to prayer

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for a new bill that prevents mosques in Jerusalem and inside Israel from using loudspeakers in calling Muslims for prayer, the Israeli daily Haaretz said Monday. It quoted Netanyahu as saying that “it’s legitimate in Belgium; it’s legitimate in France. Why isn\'t it legitimate here? We don\'t need to be more liberal than Europe.\' Several Likud ministers opposed the proposed new bill; forcing Netanyahu to postpone discussion of this law for fear that he would not get support of the majority of the Likud ministers. Netanyahu said that discussion of the bill will be brought before the ministerial committee next week, according to the paper. The so-called Muezzin Law, proposed by Israeli lawmaker Anastassia Michaeli, from the ultra-right wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, applies to all houses of worship but the practice is prevalent only in mosques, said Haaretz. Meanwhile, Arab League head of Palestine affairs, Mohammad Sbaih, expressed in a press release deep concern over the proposed bill and the growing Israeli violations of religious rights in Jerusalem and in the Palestinian towns inside Israel.