Bar Lev agrees to Jordan's demand to increase Waqf members

In a speech to his cabinet on Sunday, however, Bennett rejected Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas’s demand to give Jordan more say over decisions on the Temple Mount.

 People gather around the Dome of the Rock, in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City October 28, 2021 (photo credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)
People gather around the Dome of the Rock, in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City October 28, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)

Public Security Minister Bar Lev and the police agreed to Jordan's demand to increase the amount of Waqf members on the Temple Mount by another 50 security guards.

In a speech to his cabinet on Sunday, however, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett rejected Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas’ demand to give Jordan more say over decisions on the Temple Mount.

Ra’am’s views on al-Aqsa Mosque were based on understandings between Israel and Jordan.

In the Temple Mound itself tensions remained high, a large Hamas banner featuring a greeting for Eid al-Fitr and a photo of a Hamas terrorist was raised last week, as more than 200,000 Arabs visited the site to celebrate the end of the Ramadan month of fasting. The banner was removed shortly after it was raised and one of the people responsible for raising it was arrested later in the day, according to police.

Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, warned Israel against “attacking” al-Aqsa Mosque, claiming that the movement would fire a barrage of 1,111 rockets in the next conflict with Israel.

“Our people and our nation must prepare for a big battle if the occupation does not stop attacking al-Aqsa Mosque,” said Sinwar. “Harming al-Aqsa and Jerusalem means a regional war, and we will not hesitate to take any decision with our sanctities.”

The Hamas leader addressed the other Palestinian factions in Gaza, saying that they must be on alert “because the battle did not end with the end of Ramadan, but will really begin with its end.”

Tzvi Yoffe and Gil Hoffman contributed to this story.