Netanyahu endorses loudspeaker ban in Mosques

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday expressed support for a bill to ban mosques from using loudspeakers for the Islamic call to prayer. "There's no need to be more liberal than Europe," Netanyahu said during a Likud ministers meeting, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. The ban was proposed by right wing party Yisrael Beiteinu and would apply to all places of worship, although it effectively only targets mosques. MK Anastassia Michaeli, who proposed the bill, said hundreds of thousands of Israelis suffer from the noise caused by mosques. Yisrael Beiteinu, headed by controversial Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, has sponsored several nationalist policies in the past which critics say target the Palestinian population in Israel. The most recent bill faced criticism from other ministers and Netanyahu proposed it be debated next week, Haaretz reported. Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor said the law targeted Muslims, while Limor Livnat, minister for culture and sports, said existing laws could be used to deal with any issue concerning noise pollution. Around 20 percent, or 1.3 million people, of Israel's population are of Palestinian origin. They are largely the descendants of Palestinians that managed to remain during the 1948 war, when an estimated 700,000 were expelled from or fled their homes during fighting that would see the establishment of the state of Israel. Rights groups say that Israelis of Palestinian origin face discrimination in employment, education and public funding within Israel.