The Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved on Sunday a revised version of a bill prohibiting the use of loudspeakers in houses of prayer in the overnight hours, clearing the proposed legislation for an initial vote before the Knesset plenum.

The new version of the so-called muezzin bill prohibits the use of loudspeakers for religious purposes from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Violators of the proposed legislation will be fined NIS 10,000 ($2,600), according to a copy of the legislation.

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If the bill passes its initial reading in the Knesset, expected to take place on Wednesday, it will be sent back to committee, after which it will again come before the plenum for its second and third readings prior to becoming law. The backing by the ministerial committee gives the bill coalition support.

Critics of the bill argue that the measure unfairly targets mosques, whose muezzins use loudspeakers to announce the call to prayer five times a day, including during the very early morning hours before dawn.

Other critics of the bill argue that it is superfluous, as the problem can be tackled using existing noise pollution laws.

Jewish residents of East Jerusalem and other areas of Israel have long complained about what they say is the excessive noise coming from mosque loudspeakers, as they say it wakes them up in the middle of the night.

Sponsors of the bill were forced to withdraw it for further revisions after it was first proposed in November, as ultra-Orthodox lawmakers feared the original bill’s complete prohibition on the use of loudspeakers for religious purposes would outlaw the Shabbat siren, which is heard in cities with large Jewish populations Friday evenings to mark the start of Judaism’s day of rest.

Despite the revision prohibiting the use of loudspeakers only between the hours of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., the bill was shelved in December, even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced support for the proposed measure.