MK (Likud) Avi Dichter, who serves as Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, is calling to turn Har Habayis into a sterile area. Dichter, who is a former Director of the Shin Bet, feels that following the fatal shooting attack on Har Habayis, turning the holy site into a sterile area is the correct response.

As reported, two policemen were murdered and a third wounded in that shooting attack. Guns that their friends smuggled onto Har Habayis for them were used in the attack by the Um el-Fahm terrorists, who were all killed by police.

Speaking with Channel 2 News, Dichter explained that technological and other measures would be required to turn Har Habayis into a sterile area. Dichter also addressed the metal detectors placed on Har Habayis by Israel, the very same metal detectors that Jordan found objectionable. He explained that in Mecca and �every hotel in Jordan and Cairo� one can find the very same measures are taken.

Dichter is confident that with the use of cameras and other high-tech devices, Har Habayis could be turned into and maintained as a sterile area.

(YWN � Israel Desk, Jerusalem)