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Religious Zionism Knesset Member Zvi Sukkot ascended the Temple Mount Thursday morning during the intermediate days of Passover and was filmed praying and prostrating himself — both in violation of the longstanding status quo at the site. Other Jewish worshippers joined him in prayer, while a police officer stood nearby and did not intervene.
The spot where Sukkot prostrated himself is the same location where a young man was detained for a similar act about a year ago.
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Knesset Member Zvi Sukkot at the Temple Mount
“Fourteen years ago I was here. I bowed for a second and police immediately grabbed me,” Sukkot said afterward. “They arrested me. Now Jews are bowing, praying, holding prayer quorums. Arabs aren’t allowed near us, the Waqf doesn’t come close. I see this with tears in my eyes.”
“We merited to come here today to the House of the Lord, to the Temple Mount,” Sukkot added, “First, with deep gratitude to God for the open miracles of the past year — up north, in the south, in the West Bank and in the wars, thanks to the sacrifice of our soldiers. We’re praying for the success of IDF troops on all fronts and also for the swift return of the hostages. We’re praying for them at this holy place.”
He also thanked the Temple Mount Administration and others who “took part in making this tremendous change possible,” adding, “With God’s help, we’ll merit full redemption, the rebuilding of the Temple and eating from the sacrificial offerings there soon.”
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National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who frequently visits the site himself, praised the visit. “I’m happy to see that Member of Knesset Zvi Sukkot, like many thousands of others, is bowing and praying on the Temple Mount,” he said. “What wasn’t done for 30 years is now happening under my watch. I thank God for the privilege of leading this tremendous change.”
Palestinian officials responded by accusing Israel of systematically eroding the status quo and allowing increasingly large groups of Jews to enter the compound and hold religious ceremonies.
Since the current government took office in late 2022, incidents of Jewish prayer and rituals on the Mount have grown, while police enforcement of the status quo has reportedly weakened.
Last month, several right-wing ministers and lawmakers, including members of Sukkot’s party as well as Knesset members from Likud and Otzma Yehudit, sent a letter to U.S. senators urging them to back a congressional resolution recognizing “the eternal and undeniable right of the Jewish people to the Temple Mount.”
“This is the place where our temples stood, which were destroyed by the Babylonian and Roman empires some 2,500 and 1,900 years ago,” the letter read.