Israel suspends visits to Temple Mount

Christian Century, August 23, 2003

Israeli police have suspended controversial visits by non-Muslims to Jerusalem's Temple Mount, a holy site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary or Haram al-Sharif. Palestinian officials, among them Yasir Arafat, warned that there would be "grave consequences" if Israel allowed Jews to visit the site. Visits, which resumed this summer despite Palestinian protests, were halted in July amid fears of rising Palestinian anger and rioting. An Israeli police spokesman declined to say when the site would be reopened, citing "operational reasons" for suspending tours.

Holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians, the Temple Mount was a popular tourist destination prior to its closure in 2000, when violence erupted after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited the site.

But some weeks ago, Israel began quietly allowing small groups of tourists, accompanied by armed guards, to again visit the site, third holiest in Islam following Mecca and Medina. "Our desire is to come here in peace," Justin Kron, a young American Christian touring the site before visits were suspended, told the BBC. "To learn about this land, to learn of the biblical and spiritual and historical significance of this land. And the people of this land are not just Israelis, they're also Arabs."

The Noble Sanctuary holds the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, built in A.D. 691, where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. Jews believe the site sits atop the remains of the First and Second Temples, leading some militant Jewish groups to demand that the mosque be torn down. Jewish prayers at the site have been restricted since the outbreak of violence in 2000.

Muslim security forces in charge of the area denied non Muslims access in the past in part because so many Palestinians have been barred from entering, the BBC reported. Only Palestinians with proper papers who live in Israel can enter the Temple Mount, while residents of the West Bank and Gaza are limited in their movements by Israeli security forces.--RNS