A senior Israeli lawmaker said Monday that the country risked a "religious war" in the wake of a court ruling allowing open Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, and particularly in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism but Jews are barred from worship there under Israel's committeemen to the religious status-quo in the capital. The Al-Aqsa Mosque, the compound of which includes the Dome of the Rock, is Islam's third-holiest place after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Jerusalem Magistrates' Court on Sunday lifted a restraining order against three Jews who had prayed while visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, effectively allowing the reciting of the "Shema Israel" prayer on the holy site.
The move was immediately panned by the coalition and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said his government would challenge the decision, which could destabilize the volatile site.
The Israel Police appealed the decision on Monday, asking the Jerusalem District Court to reinstate the measure. The appeal argued that the court was mistaken in "drawing conclusions about government policy regarding the rules of conduct on the Temple Mount based on an online media report," Channel 12 News reported.
The prayers were "carried out during a tense period, during which violent riots occurred on the Temple Mount and elsewhere in Jerusalem," the police filing said.
Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben-Barak, who chairs the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, came out against the ruling and voiced further concern about the planned route of the Jerusalem Day flag march, which includes the Muslim quarter of the Old City.
"I think that during this sensitive period care must be taken," he told Israel Radio. "We should not, with our own hands, cause a religious war here or all kinds of provocations that are liable to ignite the Middle East."
Ben-Barak predicted that Bennett would wait until the night before the march to decide on its final route to prevent possible conflict.
"It is not always worth paying this price for a demonstration that is all about spectacle and little else."
Palestinian factions have denounced Israeli moves in Jerusalem's Old City and reiterated threats that echoed their warnings in the run-up to the May 2021 conflict in Gaza.
The 11-day Operation Guardian of the Walls saw Gaza's terrorist group fire over 4,000 at central and southern Israel as the IDF pummeled Hamas infrastructure in the coastal enclave.
Speaking in Gaza, Islamic Jihad official Khaled Al-Batsh said that going ahead with the flag march would be a "message of war" against Palestinians.
"The Palestinians will confront the flag march and the resistance will do all it should to protect the Al Aqsa mosque and the sacred sites," he said in a statement.
Hamas, the terrorist group controlling the Gaza Strip, issued a statement saying it "will not stand" for these moves and warned the controversial march would "exact a price" from Israel.
Jordan's foreign minister also denounced the ruling, saying Monday that the ruling "allows extremists to hold ceremonies at the Al-Aqsa compound."
As part of its peace treaty with Israel, Jordan is afforded control of the Islamic Waqf – an Islamic religious trust best known for controlling and managing the Islamic edifices on and around the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
