Coalition MK prays at Temple Mount, praises ‘tremendous change’ at holy site

Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot visits the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and hails the “tremendous change” at the flashpoint holy site.

The lawmaker is filmed praying and prostrating himself at the compound, despite a status quo arrangement barring Jews from praying there. Private and even public prayer has increasingly been tolerated at Judaism’s holiest site even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist there has been no change to the status quo.

Sukkot tells reporters that his last visit was 14 years ago, when he attempted to pray and was immediately seized by cops and arrested.

“Today, Jews prostrate themselves, pray, with a minyan [quorum of 10 adult Jews], don’t let the Arabs come near us. The Waqf doesn’t come near us,” he boasts, referring to the Jordanian religious trust that administers the site, which is also the third-holiest in Islam.

“I see this [change] with tears in my eyes,” he adds, saying he prays for the IDF’s success in the ongoing war and for the return of the hostages.

לאחר 14 שנה שלא עלה: ח"כ צבי סוכות עלה הבוקר להר הבית והתפלל להשבת החטופים וניצחון המלחמה והשתחווה במקום הקדוש pic.twitter.com/aSL9rAqv4K

— חזקי ברוך (@HezkeiB) April 17, 2025

חבר הכנסת צבי סוכות עולה להר הבית לראשונה לאחר 14 שנה לתפילות חג הפסח בהר עם רעייתו, בליווי ראש מינהלת הר הבית הרב שמשון אלבוים pic.twitter.com/CNUiQF0goK

— מינהלת הר הבית (@har_habait) April 17, 2025