Hundreds of young Arab men entered the Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount on Saturday night and barricaded themselves inside the Aqsa Mosque.
What is happening right now on the Temple Mount: Following the Taraweeh evening prayers of Ramadan on Temple Mount, many youngsters entered the Masque and closed the doors, for no reason. Meanwhile, soccer matches are being held just next to the Mosque doors pic.twitter.com/uZiwQypQDq
— Israel Police (@israelpolice) April 8, 2023
On Saturday night, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the actions of the Arab rioters:
“Those who desecrate the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and barricade themselves inside it are a dangerous mob, radicalized and incited by Hamas and other terror organizations,” the ministry tweeted.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry called on Jordan to intervene.
“We call on Jordan, through the Waqf guards, to immediately remove from the Al-Aqsa Mosque these extremists who are planning to riot tomorrow during Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount and the Priestly Blessing at the Western Wall,” the Israeli ministry tweeted.
Despite the ongoing violence by the Arabs at the site, the Israeli police went to great lengths to ensure the right of Jews to visit their holiest site during the Passover holiday, opening the Mughrabi Gate to Jews at 7:30 on Sunday morning, directly after the Muslim prayers ended.
The Beyadenu Temple Mount advocacy organization announced that 912 Jews successfully visited the site on Sunday. 2,337 Jews have ascended since the beginning of the month of Nisan. From the beginning of the Hebrew calendar year on Rosh Hashanna (September 25), 26,144 Jews have ascended to the Temple Mount.
“The only way to achieve peace and security is through maintaining Israeli sovereignty everywhere in the State of Israel,” Tom Nisani, CEO of Beyadanu, said. “Continued surrender and attempts to negotiate with terrorists will lead to more riots and more attacks. We thank the security forces for keeping the immigrants safe and demand that the Israeli government replace the diskette and stop surrendering to the terrorists.”
Dr. Melissa Jane Kronfeld, the founder of High On The Har, a nonprofit organization advocating for equal rights and access to the Temple Mount, was among the first Jews to ascend on Sunday.
“The police were out in full force and expedited the procedure of Jewish visitation,” Dr. Kronfeld told Israel365 News. “They were there to ensure the rights of Jews and also Muslims to visit the holy site. This was not at all like the riots we experienced last year. “
