Police Oppose Ben-Gvir's Plan to Open Temple Mount on Saturdays

Israeli police are reportedly opposing a proposal by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to allow Jewish visits to the Temple Mount complex on Saturdays. In a professional opinion, police officials expressed opposition to changing the current arrangement due to the site's security sensitivity, as reported by "Walla!". Currently, Jewish visits to the Temple Mount are permitted only from Sunday to Thursday during specific hours and under police directives. Ben-Gvir seeks to expand this to include Saturdays, but the police stance complicates the initiative.

The issue has reached the High Court of Justice (Bagatz), where Temple Mount activists filed a petition against the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Security, and the Commander of the Jerusalem District. They are demanding the cancellation of the prohibition and permission for non-Muslim entry on Saturdays, arguing there is no justification for the continued restriction.

Minister Ben-Gvir himself appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, requesting the advancement of opening the site on Saturdays. He argued in a letter that expanding access would strengthen Israeli sovereignty and governance there, emphasizing that confronting threats does not harm national security. The minister aimed to implement the change before Rosh Hashanah, but the state requested an extension from the court to examine the matter. Meanwhile, despite Ben-Gvir's tenure seeing expanded visiting hours and other eased restrictions for Jews, the issue of Saturday access remains unchanged. Requests to bring prayer shawls and phylacteries to the site are also still not approved.