Israeli minister prays on Temple Mount, calls for sovereignty over Gaza

The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Jewish Temples were built, is the holiest site in Judaism.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Sunday morning, where he called for sovereignty over the Gaza Strip.

“The horror videos released by Hamas are meant to pressure Israel,” Ben Gvir said, referring to new footage released by Hamas on Saturday showing hostage Evyatar David in a tunnel being forced to dig his grave.

“I say this precisely from here — from the Temple Mount, where we’ve proven sovereignty is possible — that a clear message must be sent: The entire Gaza Strip must be occupied, sovereignty declared, Hamas uprooted, and voluntary emigration promoted. Only then will we return the hostages and win the war.”

Ben-Gvir and hundreds of other Jews were visiting the Temple Mount to mark Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.

The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Jewish Temples were built, is the holiest site in Judaism.

The status quo governing the holy site goes back to 1967 when Israel liberated the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six-Day War.

Fearing a religious war, then-defense minister Moshe Dayan agreed to let the Islamic Waqf, a Muslim trusteeship, continue managing the holy site’s day-to-day affairs, while Israel would maintain overall sovereignty and be responsible for security.

The Waqf is overseen by the Jordanian monarchy.

According to the status quo, while non-Muslims are allowed to visit the Temple Mount, they are not allowed to pray there.

Rabbis are divided over Jews ascending to the Temple Mount. For centuries, the widespread rabbinic consensus was that laws of ritual purity still apply to the site, restricting Jews from visiting.

But in recent years, a growing number of rabbis have argued that ritual purity laws don’t apply to all sections of the holy site and encourage visits to permitted areas to maintain Jewish connections to the Mount Temple Mount.

Approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 50 remaining hostages, around 30 are believed to be dead.