Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists the status quo at the Temple Mount forbidding open Jewish prayer ‘has not changed.’
Although open prayer, including prostration, was not permitted for Jewish visitors of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for decades for fear of offending the local Arab population, it is now described as routine.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has always supported open Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount, prostrated at the Temple Mount and encouraged others to do the same to commemorate the 9th of Av (this year, August 13th), a day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
As National Security Minister, Ben Gvir has told the police not to enforce former rules that would have required them to escort away Jews who prostrated on the Temple Mount or engaged in open prayer.