US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller calls on Israel “to facilitate access to the Temple Mount for peaceful worshipers during Ramadan, consistent with past practice.”
“It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s not just a matter of granting people religious freedom that they deserve, to which they have a right, but it’s also a matter that is directly important to Israel’s security,” Miller says when asked about the issue during a press briefing.
“It is not in Israel’s security interest to inflame tensions in the West Bank or in the broader region. And so we’ll continue to make that clear,” he adds.
The remarks come at the same time as reports that Israel was weighing the imposition of sweeping restrictions on Temple Mount access for Israeli Arabs and West Bank Palestinians during Ramadan.
However, Channel 12 reported earlier this evening that blanket restrictions against Arab Israelis were taken off the table by the war cabinet.
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