Visitation rights to the Temple Mount for Palestinian Muslims from the West Bank will be limited to those over the age of 60 or under the age of 10, and limitations on Muslim Israeli citizens will be "examined", a source confirmed on Sunday evening.
The decision was agreed upon at the end of a meeting on the issue between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and a number of other ministers and security officials.
The number of West Bank Palestinians that meet the criteria is approximately 15,000, and "tens of thousands" of residents of east-Jerusalem and Muslim Israeli citizens will also be allowed in, but the Israel Police will first examine the option of an age limit for the latter groups, the source said.
The meeting included members of Israel's war cabinet – Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Unity ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, and Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri – as well as Ben-Gvir, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz. The forum was convened ad-hoc for a discussion on this specific issue.
The month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which begins this year on March 10, usually brings with it heightened security tensions, and tensions are expected to be higher than usual this year due to the ongoing war in Gaza. Reports on Friday, which a spokesperson for Ben-Gvir said on Sunday were "largely correct," said that the national security minister's position was to prevent Arab residents of the West Bank from entering the mount entirely while only allowing entry for Israeli Arabs aged 70 and above.
Ben-Gvir expressed concerns that adopting the other security bodies' positions could lead to the display of tens of thousands of Hamas flags on the Temple Mount, and lead to outbreaks of violence.
In contrast, according to a report by a number of Hebrew media outlets, the Israel Police recommended allowing entry for Arab residents of the West Bank from age 60 and for Israeli Arabs from age 45. The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) suggested allowing entry for West Bank Arabs from age 45 and unlimited entry for Israeli Arabs, warning that barring Israeli citizens or residents form praying at the Temple Mount would lead to an uptick of violence.
Despite the source reporting that there is yet to be a decision regarding visitation of Israeli-Arabs, members of the opposition charged that Netanyahu's agreement to examine the option was a capitulation to the far-right Ben-Gvir.
"The nationalist minister of fascism, with Netanyahu's approval, decided to ignite everything," Hadash-Ta'al Mk Yousef Atawna wrote on X.
Labor's Gilad Kariv added, "Netanyahu again surrendered to Ben-Gvir in another dangerous and racist decision that could add unnecessary fuel to the flames of violence."
Gantz stressed that only restrictions arising from security considerations will be imposed during Ramadan, adding that there have been no final decisions made concerning the restrictions.
"The security officials will formulate their recommendations according to the assessment of the situation and bring them to the political echelon later," said Gantz.
'Israel will allow a celebration of the victory of Hamas on the Temple Mount'
In a statement on Saturday evening, prior to Sunday's meeting, Ben-Gvir said that "it is forbidden in any way to allow the entry of residents from the 'Palestinian' authority into Israeli territory. It cannot be that abducted women are being raped in Gaza, and Israel will allow a celebration of the victory of Hamas on the Temple Mount. The positions of some of the security officials who recommend approving the massive entry of Arab residents of the West Bank to the Temple Mount shows that they learned nothing from October 7."
Ben-Gvir continued, "I recommend that those security officials take a look at the polls conducted in the Palestinian Authority, where they will discover the tremendous support for the massacre committed by Hamas on October 7," he said. "I will strongly oppose the entry of West Bank Arab residents into Israel and I hope that the rest of my colleagues will behave the same way."
KAN News on Saturday evening quoted sources in Jerusalem's Islamic Waqf, which administers the Temple Mount site, as saying that they were "very worried about the intentions of irresponsible officials in the Israeli government to further ignite the Middle East, via provocations and sanctions against Muslim prayer-goers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan."