Temple Mount reopens to Jews for first time in weeks

Israel reopened the Temple Mount to Jews for the first time in weeks Sunday morning, with dozens of Jews being allowed to visit the site.

The Temple Mount has been closed to Jewish visitors since April 12, the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The government and the police also decided to keep the mountain, the holiest site in Judaism, closed to Jews on Jerusalem Day, May 10, as police clashed with Arab rioters at the site.

Jerusalem Day also marked the the beginning of the recent flare-up with the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, which launched seven rockets at Jerusalem that day before beginning an 11-day barrage of over 4,000 rockets at southern and central Israel.

The leadership of the Temple Mount organizations welcomed the decision to resume Jewish visits to the Temple Mount.

Assaf Fried, a spokesman for the Temple Organization headquarters, called on the Israeli government to “neutralize the focus of the outbreak of terrorism, by moving the Temple Mount mosques to Saudi Arabia. Or to any other Arab country seeking peace.”

The leadership also thanked “the prime minister and the Minister of Internal Security, the Jerusalem Police and especially the district commander Doron Turgeman for the many efforts they have made on and off the Temple Mount in recent weeks, which today allowed it to reopen to Jews.”