Fears Rise Over Temple Mount Access in Israel as Ramadan Approaches

Rumors have been flying regarding the security situation at the Temple Mount during the month-long, Muslim celebration of Ramadan, which begins on March 11th. Israeli officials have not confirmed their plans for the Temple Mount, but the thought that access may be limited to Arabs, (the only people group who currently have unlimited access,) has caused acute controversy.

What is Actually Happening?

So far, there are rumors that Israel may impose age restrictions on Arabs ascending the Temple Mount in order to limit “troublemakers”. Other reports claim that the number of Arabs allowed to ascend each day will be limited. Again, no official declaration has been made regarding Netanyahu’s decision other than this statement released by his office:

“The prime minister made a balanced decision to allow freedom of worship within the security needs determined by professionals.”

Netanyahu has already been warned that limiting access to the Temple Mount during Ramadan may unnecessarily heighten tensions between Jews and Arabs during an already uneasy time. The prompt of Netanyahu’s proposal is that the celebration of Ramadan regularly coincides with increased Arab violence against the Jewish people, and the ever increasing hostility in relation to the current war does not show promising results that this year will be any exception.

What’s the Big Deal with the Temple Mount?

In addition to the concerns posed in the prior examples, the name of the horrific massacre on October 7th has been pegged by Hamas as the “al-Aqsa flood”. The connection to the Temple Mount is this: we as Christians refer to this area as the “Temple Mount” due to it being the location of the first and second Temple to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the holiest site in Judaism and should be understood as the holiest site in Christianity. The Muslims refer to this same area as the “al-Aqsa compound” since it is the location of the al-Aqsa mosque (although some scholars debate this fact), the third holiest site in Islam. Also on this controversial location is the Dome of the Rock, a shrine for the Muslims, but is also considered by the Jews to have once been where the Holiest of Holies in the Temple stood. According to Jewish belief, this same spot is also where God spoke the world into existence and where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, before he was stopped by God Himself.

Currently, Muslims have unlimited access to the Temple Mount and can freely pray, walk, throw stones, and play soccer on the compound, but the Jews and Christians are currently only allowed one and a half hours per day on the Temple Mount, are not allowed to pray or read their Scripture, and are frequently harassed by the Jordanian Waqf and other Muslims at the complex. 

Even though the Jewish people have an incredible connection to the Temple Mount, the Arab world very much opposes their right to worship there. Naming the October 7th massacre the “al-Aqsa Flood” allows a glimpse into the true intentions behind this atrocious attack, the intention of taking the Temple Mount entirely from the Jewish people and taking much of their identity with it.

Skeptics of limiting Arab access to the Temple Mount during Ramadan have protested that this could turn the current Israel-Hamas war into a religious war. The reality is that this conflict has been a religious war since its inception. An attack committed by jihadists (individuals who consider terror attacks “holy war”) and who refer to it as the “al-Aqsa Flood” can be nothing other than religious. The present issue is not that it will become a “religious war”, but that Israel is willing to implement restrictions for their own safety and is bold enough to refuse to give up their own religious freedom. 

Hamas is in strong opposition to Israel’s decision to possibly limit Arab access in order  to lessen security concerns and is currently calling Palestinians to action. Sky News shared a quote from Hamas stating this:

 “…Resist the arrogance of the occupation and to mobilize and march to the mosque.”

This quote does not seem to imply that violence is off the table in the eyes of Hamas. This concern is echoed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in this statement from Reuters: 

“The entry of tens of thousands of haters in a victory celebration on the Temple Mount is a security threat to Israel.”

In Conclusion

The concern and opposition to placing restrictions at the Temple Mount are not without reason; there very well could be violent repercussions in response to a ruling such as this. Those in favor of limitations are also not without reason, since there is already a history of violence on the Temple Mount compound during the celebration of Ramadan, and there is a high possibility that we may see an increase in violence this year due to the war. 

As in many wars, there is typically a risk of increased violence in nearly every decision made by the governing body; the current decision, however, is also related to a passion for both the Arabs and the Jews, so the possibility of violence is even higher. The Jewish people long to be reunited with a restored Temple, a place of worship, for all nations, to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whereas the Arabs hold a violently strong passion to restrict the Jews from freely worshiping God. Every battle in Israel, especially those over holy sites, have been spiritual, they just haven’t been acknowledged as such by the world. This war is no exception to that trend.