2 U.S. Congressman Detained on Temple Mount

. . .It identified the members of Congress as Republican Reps. Scott Tipton of Colorado and David B. McKinley of West Virginia.

They visited the Temple Mount, only to be “detained by Israel police after an Islamic Waqf official, which administers the Temple Mount, lodged a complaint against them,” the report said.

“It appears that they violated some unknown rule when Tipton bent down to pick up a broken olive branch off the ground. His movement seems to have agitated the Waqf official who, apparently believing the congressman was bowing as if in prayer, set off the events that followed.”

The report bluntly explains what happened. They were “physically removed from the Temple Mount by police officers, and frisked and detained for more than a half-hour.” . . .

Tipton told the news agency, “You know it was a little surprising. … We were going around and trying to take it all in and being rushed through, and I happened to pick up an olive branch, ironically a symbol of peace. Apparently, that broke a rule – not one that was defined. We had no forewarning going in of what to do and not to do, no instructions. … We were trying to take in what is obviously a religious site not only for Jews and Muslims, but for Christians as well. … Interestingly, apparently they viewed something as an infraction and then chose to detain us.” (Read more from “2 U.S. Congressman Detained on Temple Mount” HERE)

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