An Israel Police spokesman told JNS on Sunday that visiting hours for Jews to the Temple Mount have been extended by one hour during the month of Ramadan, from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. During the Muslims’ holy month, non-Muslims are forbidden entry in the afternoon.
The Temple Mount Yeshiva expressed its “deep appreciation” to the police and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for “the expansion of the hours of ascension to the Temple Mount during the morning.”
On Jan. 21, the police for the first time allowed Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, distributing guidelines for prayer at Judaism’s holiest site. Some have criticized the move as a departure from the agreement in 1967 between Israel and Jordan, the authority in charge of the Islamic Waqf that runs the mosque on the Temple Mount. While Israel maintains general security in the area, the Waqf controls the gates and the interior.
The status quo, which has allowed Jews to visit only at certain times and has forbidden them to pray at their holiest site, should have long ago generated outrage among decent people, regardless of the belief of many Orthodox Jews that stepping foot on such sacred ground is prohibited.
Since Ben-Gvir started his tenure as security minister in 2022, groups of religious Jews have tested the limits of the status quo, visiting the Temple Mount and even engaging in public prayer.
Ramadan is a time of increased tension between Muslims and Jews, and Israel deployed extra security personnel as about 80,000 Muslims — mostly Israeli Arabs but also including about 10,000 Arabs from Judea and Samaria — ascended the Temple Mount.
Senior Israeli police officer Arad Braverman said that the police will work to allow everyone — Muslims and Jews — to enter the compound safely and securely. All will be welcome except rioters, he emphasized.
Police spokesman Dean Elsdunne also told JNS that Jews will only be permitted to come “during the customary hours according to the customary rules that have been in place” and that prayer guidance sheets will be distributed, where Jews will be able to pray in assigned areas under the watchful eye of the police.