Only one week until Ramadan, and the security establishment and the political echelon have not yet decided how this year’s pilgrimage of Muslim worshipers to the Temple Mount will be organized this month. Tomorrow (Monday) is expected to be held by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Together with the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gabirthe Commissioner of Police Kobi Shabtai and Shin Bet and IDF officials for further discussion on the issue of the restrictions, to the extent that they will be imposed on the pilgrims to the Temple Mount.
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Sources privy to the details indicate to “Maariv” that “the Commissioner, whose tenure was extended until June, will not try to contradict the position of the Minister of National Security who expressed himself publicly.”
Among the security forces, they believe that restricting entry to the Temple Mount during this period could provoke an escalation, but the police and the Ministry of National Security insist that an age restriction be implemented. It is possible that the police also want an age limit, but in view of the intelligence information it is not impossible that this is a cause of problems. The decision will be made tonight and then it will be brought tomorrow for approval by the Prime Minister who has already accepted the position of the police as part of the defense cabinet discussion.
The police will not allow the introduction of provocative measures or those that have the potential to lead to rebellion and incitement, and in any case they will hold talks with the muezzins and religious leaders to prevent incitement and support for terrorism.
In the last day Commissioner Shabtai met with the Minister of National Security in preparation for the debate and the two discussed a series of possible outlines. During the debate the two agreed that it is right to impose restrictions on those who come to the mountain, but Minister Ben Gabir clarified during the conversation that it is right to limit the number of worshipers on the mountain to only a few thousand. In order to enable the police to be optimally prepared and able to respond quickly if violent disturbances break out.
Yaakov Shabtai, Itamar Ben Gvir (Photo: Yonatan Zindel, Flash 90)
On the other hand, the Commissioner made it clear to the Minister that his position is to allow the entry of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians from Judea and Samaria while limiting the number of those who come to the mountain in some way, and this for safety reasons. The Shin Bet demanded no restrictions at all for fear of heating up the area. The amount of restrictions, the age of the immigrants and the number of immigrants, will be decided tomorrow at a discussion with the Prime Minister at 17:00 in Jerusalem.
The Israel Police responded: “The Israel Police will present its official positions to the political echelon and not through the media and will continue to do everything in its power to maintain the balance between freedom of worship and public peace and security.”