The Israeli government has decided against imposing new restrictions on access to a key mosque in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a move that could ease tensions at a site that has long been a flashpoint of unrest. .
In a meeting led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night, security officials decided to allow the same number of worshipers to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during Ramadan as they had in previous years, Mr. Netanyahu’s Office said. Ramadan, which begins with the sighting of the moon, is likely to begin in a few days.
Israel has long restricted access to the compound, which is holy to Muslims and Jews, to Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank during Ramadan. This year, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, called on the government to impose restrictions on Arab citizens of Israel as well.
Tuesday’s decision overturned the plan advanced by Mr. Ben-Goverr, but it allowed some wiggle room. “A weekly review of security and safety aspects will be conducted; a decision will be taken accordingly,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The mosque premises have regularly become the scene of violent clashes. A dispute over the site in May 2021 helped spark the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.
With Ramadan approaching as the current Israel-Hamas war enters its sixth month, fears of escalation at the site have intensified. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that if a cease-fire agreement is not reached by Ramadan, “it will be very dangerous.”
Mansour Abbas, an Arab-Israeli member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, praised the decision. “I congratulate the Prime Minister on the responsible decision to allow Muslim worshipers freedom of worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Mr. Ben-Govern, however, expressed concern that the decision would undermine Israel’s efforts to destroy the militant group Hamas, which attacked Israel on October 7. “Hamas’ celebration of the Temple Mount ≠ total victory,” he wrote on X, using The name was used by Jews to refer to Al-Aqsa.
Hamas has previously condemned any Israeli restrictions on worship at al-Aqsa. On Monday, the Hamas leader urged Palestinians to turn the mosque into a conflict site.
Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jerusalem “must turn every moment of Ramadan into confrontation and confrontation with the enemy to protect al-Aqsa,” Beirut-based Hamas leader Osama Hamdan told a conference of Muslim scholars via video. .
In Muslim tradition, the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from the site of Al-Aqsa, and thousands of Muslims visit the mosque every day during Ramadan. For Jews, the area is revered as the Temple Mount because it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times, which are central to Jewish identity.
Matthew Mpoke Bigg Contributed to reporting.
