Middle East
Israel’s Foreign Minister: Status quo on Temple Mount remains
The Dome of the Rock is located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Recently, there have been repeated confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces. Photo: Mahmoud Illean/AP/dpa
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The administration of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is always a subject of controversy. Recently there have been repeated confrontations at the holy site. Israel’s foreign minister is now positioning himself.
After repeated confrontations on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel’s Foreign Minister Jair Lapid has stressed that Israel is committed to the status quo on the holy site.
“Muslims pray on the Temple Mount, non-Muslims visit it,” Lapid told journalists in Jerusalem on Sunday. “There is no change, there will be no change,” he said. “We have no plans to divide the Temple Mount between religions.”
The Temple Mount (Al-Haram al-Sharif) with the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. But it is also sacred to Jews because there used to be two Jewish temples there. The Temple Mount is under Muslim administration while Israel is responsible for security. According to an agreement with the Muslim authorities, Jews can visit the facility but not pray there. However, there are always violations. The Palestinians accuse Israel of wanting to expand its control of the holy site.
Lapid: Hamas wants to deliberately stir up unrest on the Temple Mount
Lapid said on Sunday that the Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, is trying to stir up unrest on the Temple Mount. “Two to three hundred extremists were sent by Hamas to foment confrontations,” he said. “On the other hand, 95,000 peaceful (Muslim) believers came to the Temple Mount yesterday alone to hold a holy ceremony.” Israel made sure that hundreds of thousands of Muslims could pray on the Temple Mount during the fasting month of Ramadan. During that time, Israel also made “considerable efforts to stop Jewish extremists.” Security forces would have prevented provocations.
Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians claim the territories for their own state with East Jerusalem as the capital.