Over 1,100 Jews visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to pray on the first day of Chol Hamoed Sukkot, the Israeli non-profit Beyadenu – Returning to the Temple Mount announced in a social media post.
Visitors to the Temple Mount are limited to 90-100 people per group, Beyadenu explained in a separate post, adding that police removed five visitors from the site after they recited the blessing of the Four Species and said the Kaddish prayer.
Among the hundreds of visitors was MK Yitzhak Kreuzer (Otzma Yehudit), who visited the Temple Mount with his family.
At the same time, Jerusalem District and Border police are preparing to receive and protect the thousands of visitors expected to arrive at the Temple Mount, Western Wall, and the Old City during the rest of the Sukkot holiday, including during the Birkat Kohanim (the Priestly Blessing) ceremony set to take place on Monday and Thursday.
Under the longstanding status quo, Jews and Christians are permitted to visit the Temple Mount but are generally prohibited from praying there, while Muslims are permitted to worship.
Jewish men permitted to pray on Temple Mount with prayer books for first time
In mid-August, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told The Jerusalem Post that Jewish men were permitted to bring prayer books onto the Temple Mount after right-wing journalist Arnon Segal shared a photo of Jewish men praying and reading from prayer books, claiming the photo was taken on the Temple Mount.
“Still no blanket permit, but an initial experiment aimed at ensuring the Middle East doesn’t lose its mind over this,” Segal claimed in his post. “History.”
“The Israel Police operates on the Temple Mount in accordance with the directives of the political echelon, the established rules governing the site, and operational assessments, with the aim of safeguarding public safety, security, and public order,” Israel Police said in response to the Post’s request for comment at the time.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.