LNP – Controversy swirls over unauthorized Israeli religious, culture centres

Controversy swirls around the unauthorized construction of Israeli religious centres at different locations in the country with an opposition MP raising concerns that the presence of Israeli intelligence service called ‘Mossad’ will pose a threat to national security.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP for the Colombo district Mujibur Rahman asked Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya in Parliament yesterday as to why the police and the Special Task Force (STF) had been assigned to provide security to these places round the clock.

“As a country we have historically maintained solidarity with Palestinian people and stood for their freedom. The governing party also played a role in this regard in the past. We unconditionally stood for the freedom of Palestine. We have a pro-Palestine government now in place. Still in the past, some governments developed links with Israel. It resulted in the compromise of our ties with Palestine and the Middle-East,” he said.

Against the backdrop, he said security had been provided to Israeli religious and cultural centers being put up in the country.

“In Weligama, there is one such place. Another one is found in Dehiwala. There is a huge construction taking place in the heart of Colombo too. There is no Jewish community in Sri Lanka. Then, why are there such large constructions in Sri Lanka?” he asked.

He called for immediate action in this regard.

The Prime Minister admitted that these are unauthorized places and therefore the government will be looking into it. However, she said the government is duty- bound to provide security to tourists in the country irrespective of their nationalities.

“We have a responsibility to protect tourists visiting our country. We cannot discriminate between nationalities. In case of harm on any national, it will trigger international concerns against us. Yet, I categorically say that these are unauthorized places. We will intervene in this matter. We have provided security to foreign nationals in our country only but not for any unauthorized place,” she said