Police to permit Feiglin, followers to enter Temple Mount
Feiglin intends to hold a mass prayer service at the Western Wall and then ascend the Mount with his followers.
By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMANMoshe Feiglin(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
The Israel Police will permit Jews to ascend the Temple Mount for the first time in four days on Monday morning, giving permission to Likud MK Moshe Feiglin and a large group of his supporters, Border Police Ch.-Supt. Avi Biton told Feiglin’s aides on Sunday.Feiglin intends to hold a mass prayer service at the Western Wall and then ascend the Mount with his followers, who will purify themselves before going to the Wall. He complained on Sunday that police did not allow Jews to ascend following the day’s Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim) service at the Wall.“What’s most angering is that police said they closed the Mount due to Jews praying at the Western Wall,” Feiglin said.“We have been warning them for days that the most extreme Arabs from Hamas and even people with Islamic State flags have been getting their rocks ready. Instead of taking care of the situation before the Jews came, cleaning out the Mount and doing something about it, they gave up on Israeli sovereignty in the holiest place of the Jews.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endured criticism from the international community in recent days for endorsing the rights of Jews to build and live in areas of Jerusalem over the Green Line. Feiglin said that Netanyahu was not doing enough.“I call upon the prime minister to get involved and stop running away from the problem,” Feiglin said. “At the end of the day the responsibility for the Temple Mount is on his shoulders.”Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said officers had succeeded in protecting more than 30,000 Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall on Sunday and would continue to take action to make sure there would be no disturbances on the Temple Mount. He emphasized that barring another decision, the Mount would be open to all visitors regardless of their religion.“If there are sporadic incidents, the police will take action to control the situation as soon as possible,” Rosenfeld said.Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman Ayelet Shaked said she was outraged that the Temple Mount was closed to Jews during Succot.“The police have boosted the terrorists by closing the Temple Mount in response to Muslim terrorism,” Shaked said.
