Temple Mount reopens amid growing tensions in Jerusalem
After the killing of Palestinian Iyad al-Hallak by an Israeli police officer, authorities fear conflict is brewing on the Temple Mount.
The Temple Mount compound reopened on May 31 to both Muslims and Jews after being closed for more than two months. Hundreds of worshippers arrived to the site on Sunday, after the announcement on the opening. Muslims are still not allowed to enter Al-Aqsa mosque. The mosque and the Dome of the Rock remain closed to all visitors, with Muslim prayers held in the open in marked areas. The current instructions for all prayer houses are in place for the Temple Mount, limiting public gatherings to 50 people. Jews are allowed to visit under the usual conditions of entering the complex at specific time slots in the morning and in the afternoon, and without praying.
Hundreds of Muslim worshipers waited outside the gates to the Temple Mount complex at dawn on Sunday, many of them singing, “With blood and spirit we will redeem al-Aqsa." The site had 206 Jewish visitors, including several former Knesset members on the political right.
