Netanyahu says ministers must clear Temple Mount visits with him, reiterates no change to status quo

At the beginning of this evening’s security cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells ministers that there will be no change in the status quo regarding Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Israel has for decades agreed to maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount, whereby Jews are allowed to visit under police guard, but not pray. But the number of Jewish visitors has ballooned over the past few years and authorities have quietly allowed Jewish prayers.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has publicized his visits to the Temple Mount multiple times this year alone, has said repeatedly in recent weeks and months that his policy is to allow Jewish prayer, and has been repeatedly contradicted by Netanyahu, who insists that the decades-old status quo remains in force.

But recent reports have indicated that the police are currently enabling a “de facto change” to the status quo by allowing Jewish prayer, including prostration, at the flashpoint holy site.

Israel’s security chiefs have reportedly warned the political leadership that Palestinian anger over overt Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount threatens to trigger a major escalation of violence against Israel in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

“The prime minister repeated his directive that the ministers will not go up to the Temple Mount without his prior approval via his military secretary,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office reads.