OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday barred far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir from entering Muslim areas of Jerusalem’s Old City and holding a rally, in a bid to stem further violence.

Tensions in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem have spiked in recent weeks, amid nearly a month of deadly violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, with the Jewish Passover festival coinciding with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The ban is intended to prevent further violence in the Old City, including in the Al-Aqsa mosque, where clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli forces left more than 170 injured on Friday and Sunday.

Ben Gvir had announced he would take part in a rally on Wednesday evening, saying he would march through the Damascus Gate, the main entrance to the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Bennett accepted the recommendation of security chiefs to prevent Ben Gvir from entering the Damascus Gate.