‘Israel will no longer tolerate Arab riots on Temple Mount’

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) condemned Arab rioters on the Temple Mount, calling on the Israeli government to put an end to Arab efforts to intimidate Jews attempting to visit the Jerusalem holy site.

“This generation will no longer tolerate a situation in which on the Temple Mount, especially the Temple Mount, Muslim rioters can do what they please, and Jews who simply want to visit are threatened.” Edelstein said at a Knesset meeting marking Jerusalem Day, the anniversary of the unification of the capital.

“This is an illogical, immoral, undemocratic and un-Jewish situation. This situation must change.”

On Sunday, the 52nd anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem under Israeli control, hundreds of Arab rioters clashed with Israeli police, hurling rocks, shoes, and chairs at Israeli security personnel on the Temple Mount.

Riot police used crowd dispersal measures to break up the riots, including tear gas.

Earlier on Sunday, the Temple Mount headquarters reported that Sunday morning, Jerusalem Day, a record after 1,162 Jews ascended the Temple Mount.

“Today we made history, a day when terror will not defeat Israeli sovereignty. Today we can say with certainty, the Temple Mount is run only according to the determination of the authorities of the State of Israel. The Temple Mount is in our hands!” the authority said in a statement.

The Israel Police had initially announced that the Temple Mount would be closed to Jews on Jerusalem Day, citing “security reasons”, but later reversed the decision, opening the holy site to Jewish visitors.

While the Temple Mount is under Israeli sovereign control since 1967, it is administered by the Jordanian-based Waqf, an Islamic trust which strictly limits non-Muslim visitation on the Mount and bans prayer by non-Muslims.