Ben Gvir claims he prayed at Temple Mount last week, declaring change to status quo

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says he prayed at the Temple Mount during a visit last week, and declares that he has changed the fragile status quo at the flashpoint site.

“I was at the Temple Mount last week. I prayed at the Temple Mount and we are praying at the Temple Mount. I am in the political echelon, and the political echelon allows Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount,” he says in a speech at a convention encouraging Jewish visits to the holy site.

In a post on X later, Ben Gvir asserts that this has been his position for half a year.

“On my watch, there will not be racist discrimination against Jews, who alone are forbidden from praying … in the holiest place for the Jewish people,” he writes.

Ben Gvir advocates changing a longstanding status quo at the contested Jerusalem holy site, which is the holiest site in Judaism as the historic location of the two Temples, and the third-holiest to Muslims, who refer to it as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or the Noble Sanctuary.

The vague status quo governing the compound allows Muslims to pray and enter with few restrictions, while non-Muslims, including Jews, can visit only during limited time slots via a single gate, with visibly religious Jews only allowed to walk on a predetermined route, closely accompanied by police. While Jews are not officially allowed to pray, police have increasingly tolerated limited prayer.

Many Palestinians and Muslims reject the very notion that the Temple Mount is holy to Jews, having accused Israel and Zionists for around a century of secretly conspiring to destroy the mosque and replace it with a Jewish temple — a notion that is rejected by mainstream Israeli society.

The Temple Mount has been the scene of frequent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces, and tensions at the disputed compound have fueled past rounds of violence.

Last month, Ben Gvir announced that as far as he was concerned, Jewish prayer was now allowed on the Temple Mount — prompting a quick rebuff from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, which said the status quo was unchanged.