“It is my dream to see the Israeli flag flying” over Al-Aqsa, she was quoted by Israeli media as saying ahead of the broadcast on parliament’s cable TV channel.
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On the background of his recent meeting in Berlin with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu released a statement in which he states in line with the status quo, non-Muslims may pray on Hat Habayis. “It’s my dream to see the Israeli flag flying on the Temple Mount”.
Israel captured the Temple Mount from Jordan during the 1967 Six Day War. Since then, there hasn’t been one on the flashpoint religious site.
Jews consider the compound, site of two Jewish temples in antiquity, to be their holiest place.
The grand mufti of Jerusalem declared on Sunday that the Jewish Temples never sat atop the Temple Mount and that the holy site has been the location of a mosque “since the creation of the world”. She recently said that any global observers placed on the Temple Mount would be a violation of Israel’s sovereignty.
Hotovely’s remarks were met with criticism from opposition lawmaker Yoel Hasson of the Zionist Union, who called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dismiss her immediately.
“With the stubbornness of a donkey, the messianic deputy minister continues to incite the entire Middle East”, he said.
Archaeologist professor Gabriel Barkay who heads the Temple Mount Sifting Project told TheBlaze earlier this month, “Muslims themselves built the Dome of Rock [on the Temple Mount] as a replacement of Solomon’s Temple, and they call Jerusalem the “City of the Temple” in Islamic literature”.
The current wave of Palestinian violence against Israelis has stemmed from assertions by Arab leaders that Israel is changing the status quo on the Temple Mount banning non-Muslim prayer. Israel has repeatedly denied the claims.
We welcome increased coordination between the Israeli authorities and the Jordanian Waqf, including to ensure that visitors and worshippers demonstrate restraint and respect for the sanctity of the area, and all this in accordance with the respective responsibilities of the Israelis authorities and the Jordanian Waqf.
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As we have said many times, Israel has no intention to divide the Temple Mount, and we completely reject any attempt to suggest otherwise.
