This is an opinion piece, not a news report. Its author argues that the traditional “status quo” on the Temple Mount is out of date because conditions at the site are changing quickly.
He recalls that the site was once controlled by the Jordanian-supervised Waqf and that Jewish and Christian visitors were often harassed or removed for praying. He points to a 2015 Jerusalem court ruling that upheld Jewish prayer rights and to a 2018 decision authorising Jewish worshippers to pray in designated areas. He reports that more than 68,000 Jews visited the site to worship in the most recent year he cites, that daily Jewish prayer groups now meet openly on the eastern side, and that there is an effort to have the Knesset approve a small synagogue near the Golden Gate.
Reporting note: these are the author’s claims, we have not verified the figures, and the article carries no publication date. The arrangement at the site is highly sensitive and disputed, and other parties, including Muslim authorities, see these changes very differently.
Photo: Godot13 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons