Israel Police Tuesday banned Jewish visitors from visiting the Temple Mount until further notice as tensions rise in the Old City of the Israeli capital.
Police were said to have informed Jewish groups organizing Temple Mount visits of the moratorium.
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Muslim worshipers praying near Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount
(Photo: AFP)
The purported move is designed to ward off further tensions after clashes and riots in East Jerusalem amid the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Jews, however, will be allowed to enter the area on Jerusalem Day next week.
Tensions in Jerusalem, specifically around the Old City, reached a boiling point last month after police prevented people from congregating outside Damascus Gate at the beginning of Ramadan, which Arabs said was an inflammatory move that obstructed a long-held tradition of gathering at the site during the Muslim holy month. Authorities later canceled the policy.
Amid the unrest in the area, Gaza terrorist groups launched several rocket salvos at Israel's south, prompting the Jewish state to temporarily shut off the Palestinian enclave's fishing zone.
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, as it was once home to the Jewish Temples, and the third holiest for Muslims. Captured from Jordan by Israel in 1967, the Temple Mount's religious sites are under the custody of the Waqf, or Islamic Council, with Jews banned from praying on the site.