The Jerusalem District Court on Friday upheld a ban on Jewish prayer at Jerusalem's Temple Mount compound, upending a lower court's decision that had sparked fury across the Muslim world.
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Several Israeli officials praised the decision, saying it would prevent disturbances to public order, including Public Security Minister Omer Barlev, who had warned that a change in the status quo at the flashpoint site would "endanger the public peace."
Jews are allowed to visit the site but may not overtly pray or engage in rituals there.
Arie Lipo, an Israeli rabbi, was slapped with a two-week ban from the compound last month after praying there, but last Tuesday, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court struck down the decision, saying Lipo's whispered prayer did "not violate police instructions."
The Israel Police appealed the decision, and Jerusalem District Court judge Arye Romanov on Friday upheld the ban, saying officers had acted "within reason."
"The fact that there was someone who observed Lippo pray is evidence that his prayer was overt," Romanov wrote. "I restore the decision of the police commander."
Palestinians, as well as officials in Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia had condemned the lower court's decision.
This article was first published by i24NEWS
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