The Temple Mount Restored to Muslim Control On Saturday June 17, 1967, shortly after the end of the Six Day War, Defense minister Moshe Dayan entered the Al-Aksa Mosque for a historic meeting. In a gesture of good will, Dayan sat down on the prayer carpet with five leaders of the Supreme Muslim Council (the Waqf) of what had been Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem. That discussion fixed Israels policy regarding the Temple Mount, a policy that remains unchanged to this day. Dayan had ordered the Israeli flag removed from on top of the Dome of the Rock on the afternoon of the Old Citys liberation. His discussion with the Muslims led to further concessions. The administrative control over the Temple Mount was to be the sole responsibility of the Supreme Muslim Council - the (Jordanian) Waqf. Though the Jews would be permitted free access to the Mount, prayer by Jews was prohibited. Dayan refused to permit any Jewish identification with Judaisms holiest site. To him, the Temple Mount held only historic interest. He said: I have no doubt that because the power is in our hands we must take a stand based on yielding. We must view the Temple Mount as a historic site relating to past memory. The government of Israel then allocated responsibility of the Temple Mount area to different groups. Israels Department of Antiquities were given the south, southeast, and southwest area of the Temple Mount to explore archaeologically. The top of the Temple Mount, however, site of the First and Second Temples, was given over to the Muslims to administrate. To the present day, the PLO Muslim Waqf allows tourists to visit the Mount a few hours per day - but they do not allow any freedom of worship or any non-Muslim archeological activity there. The entire area is treated as if it were a gigantic outdoor mosque. To this day, visitors who stroll out of very limited areas - to view over the wall at the Pinnacle of the Temple, or to see the interior of the Golden Gate, for example - will be quickly restrained by an Arab guard. Shortly after the Temple Mount was recaptured, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, then chief chaplain of the Israeli army, and one of the leading advocates for the rebuilding of the Temple, attempted to establish a Jewish identity on the Mount. The Western Wall below the Mount was all Israel actually possessed and to Goren that was not enough. He believed regaining Jewish presence on the Mount would be a major step towards Israels long-awaited redemption. On August 15, 1967, Goren led demonstrative Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount compound. His actions caused shockwaves and much apprehension among Muslims as to the fate of their sacred sites. Goren prayed within the Temple Mount courtyard, but this was contrary to the newly agreed arrangement with the Israeli government. The Waqf responded by locking the entrance gate above the Western Wall that leads to the Temple Mount. The keys to that gate were confiscated soon thereafter by the government of Israel and Jewish military police have been on duty at the entrance gate ever since.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 09:27:32 +0000
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