Watch: 5 Jews Arrested for Praying on Temple Mount

Attorney Nati Rom, who is assisting the religious criminals on behalf of the Honenu legal aid society, issued a statement saying: “In the 21st century, in a democratic state, Jews are being arrested solely for praying or expressing their religious sentiments. This is a disgrace and a serious violation of human rights.”

“It is inconceivable that in our capital, Jews are forbidden to close their eyes, pray to their Creator, express their feelings,” Rom continued. “I expect that human rights organizations and anyone who cares about our democracy will do all they can to allow Jews, too, the freedom of worship and freedom of expression in the capital Jerusalem. This is a severe violation of fundamental human rights values, of freedom of worship, and of democracy. This ongoing wrong should be stopped at once.”

In late 1967, following the liberation of eastern Jerusalem, the Israeli government took several measures regarding the Temple Mount, which were officially designed to reassure the world it had no intention of applying its sovereignty to the Temple Mount. Unofficially, then Defense Minister Moshe Dayan was concerned about the intentions of his IDF Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren to take over the compound. Among Dayan’s moves was a directive prohibiting raising the Israeli flag over the site, and barring the application of Israeli laws dealing with freedom of worship, while assigning administrative authority to Jordan’s Islamic waqf.

IDF General Uzi Narkis described the arrangements as follows: “The IDF will clear the Temple Mount platform and will redeploy outside it. The Israeli administration will be responsible for general security, but will not interfere with the internal guarding and the internal inspection of the running of the Mount.”

Today, eleven gates are open to Muslim worshipers, while non-Muslims are only permitted to enter through the Mughrabi gate which overlooks the Western Wall.