Is The Temple Mount The Basis Of The Next Crisis?

The next crisis? Officials set to discuss expanded access for Jews on Temple Mount

Nadav Shragai

Activists lobbying for giving Jews greater access to the Temple Mount are currently lobbying National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to lift restrictions on Jews visiting Temple Mount, and he is likely to endorse some of the measures, potentially renewing tensions in the Jerusalem flashpoint if they get final approval. 

The groups are seeking to have the hours in which Jews can visit the sacred site changed so that they include Saturdays and evenings, as well as to let Jews access the site through all of the gates, not just through the dedicated passageway leading up to the Mughrabi Gate. They would also like to passageway, known as the Mughrabi Bridge, to get a facelift so that it is not in its current makeshift format, but such plans have drawn ire from Jordan in the past, as it was deemed to be a violation of the status quo. 

Currently, Jews are allowed to visit only Sunday through Thursday and not on evenings, but the new proposals that have been submitted to security officials and are now again on Ben-Gvir's desk, call for the rollback of the restrictions to the era just after the Six-Day War, when Jews were generally allowed on the mountain without restrictions. 

Another key demand is to lift the restriction on individuals visiting the site. Currently, Jews are allowed to visit only in registered groups. Such a change would require a restructuring of the security governing the place, and police officials have already voiced their objection. 

The government has also been asked to officially declare Temple Mount a holy site. Such a measure does not require legislation, only an official proclamation by the minister of religious affairs. Such a move would streamline the process of setting proper procedures to allow Jewish prayer at the site, which would create further tension. 

Ben-Gvir is poised to present those proposals, and many others, to various security officials in the Israel Police and the Shin Bet security agency, and they will likely land on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's desk. Netanyahu has already told Ben-Gvir that any major change to the current rules governing the site must be cleared by him. The conventional wisdom is that the government will be receptive to expanded visiting hours for Jews, but change to prayer hours is still far off, as it would likely be considered a major shift in the current status quo.