JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Temple Mount was closed to Jewish visitors from Wednesday until the end of Ramadan, which is set to end near the end of next week, according to an announcement by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Tuesday afternoon.
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The decision was made despite the situation on the Temple Mount remaining relatively calm in recent days and despite the opposition of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The measure is a “grave mistake that will not bring quiet” to the region, Ben-Gvir said in a direct attack on Netanyahu. “It can only escalate the situation.
“The lack of Jewish presence on Temple Mount will automatically cause a decrease in police presence on the Mount, which will create fertile ground for calls of incitement to murder Jews,” Ben-Gvir charged. “When terror strikes, one must respond strongly rather than succumb to its whims.”
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the decision was reached based on the unanimous recommendation of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar and Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai.
During the past ten years, the Temple Mount has been closed for most of the last days of Ramadan and security officials, mindful of the Hamas response to the previous events on Temple Mount after agitators barricaded themselves in the mosque and were forcibly removed by Israeli police, decided to close the Mount to Jews.
Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri bragged that the decision to close the Temple Mount to Jews was a “submission” of Israel in the wake of the Hamas rocket fire last week from Lebanon and Gaza.
“The resistance forces have the power and means to stop the aggression against the mosque and will work for its liberation,” al-Arouri said at an event in Beirut, according to a translation of his remarks by the Haaretz daily.
Al-Arouri, a founding commander of Hamas’s military wing and leader of the Judea and Samaria division, said that Israel was in the midst of “an unprecedented crisis” as a result of the divisions over the government’s judicial reform plans.
“[Israel] has never before experienced similar division,” he said, resulting in “internal disintegration while the axis of resistance gathers momentum and developments in the region work in its favor.”
For shame.
Next we know, the Arabs will use the place as a launching pad for stones etc – as they always do whenever the cops aren’t present accompanying jews.
And we will once again hear that the reason is Jews going up…
“[Israel] has never before experienced similar division,” he said, resulting in “internal disintegration while the axis of resistance gathers momentum and developments in the region work in its favor.” Never before experienced? Baloney. In the years leading up to the destruction of the Second Bais Hamikdosh there were deep divisions between the Jews about how to deal with the Romans. Some wanted to attack, others wanted to make peace and go along as long as the BM could remain standing. Each side battled the other so that neither side was strong enough to resist the Roman onslaught in 70.
Finally some common sense. Unless Bibi wants more hell to break loose.