Temple Mount entry restrictions

For centuries an absolute ban on non-Muslim access to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount existed. The situation was relatively free of tensions as Jews acquiesced in the exercise of Muslim authority over the site. In 1839, following the Tanzimat reforms in the Ottoman establishment and legislation, non-Muslims were permitted to enter Temple Mount, but in order to do so they had to obtain special permit from the governor. Jews who managed to obtain permission to visit the site at that time, such as Moses Montefiore and Baron Rothschild, had themselves carried across the site by Muslims, in order not to violate the rabbinic prohibition against Jews setting foot on the holy ground of the area. ==Under the British Mandate for Palestine (1920–1948)==

Article 13 of the Mandatory Charter conferred on Britain by the League of Nations explicitly denied its governing body the right to either interfere with the site or the administration of purely Muslim holy places. == Under Jordan (1948–1967) ==

At the conclusion of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Haram al-Sharif lay behind the lines held by the Jordanian Legion, From 1948 until Israel captured the site in 1967 during the Six-Day War, Israeli Muslims were unable to enter East Jerusalem and access the Haram al-Sharif, a restriction at times imposed by the Israeli government. ==Under Israel (1967–present)==

Jordanian Waqf After Israel occupied the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War of June 1967, the site remained under the control of the Jordan-based Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, though control over access to the site passed to Israel. Currently eleven gates are open to the Muslim public. Non-Muslims are permitted to enter only through the Moors' Gate. Chief Rabbinate of Israel , warning of the halakhic prohibition to enter the Temple Mount, with some ambiguity whether gentiles are supposed to obey this rule too. After Israel captured the site in 1967, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel announced that entering the Temple Mount was forbidden to Jews, in accordance with a halakhic prohibition against ''temei ha'met'' (impurity by contacting the dead, cemeteries etc.). The ancient ban on Jews, other than a high priest, entering the zone of the Holy of Holies was confirmed, with the consideration also that, since the exact location of the Second Temple was unknown, any Jew walking through the site would be at grave risk of inadvertently treading on the ground of the Holy of Holies in error. According to Maimonides, all must still show the same respect (fear) for the Temple which it commanded before its destruction. He added that, "[n]o one may enter it except the places that one is permitted to enter." There is an ongoing ideological and halakhic debate whether it is permissible or forbidden to enter the Temple Mount. On one side stand those (mainly Haredi) who prohibit the entry to all persons in all areas of the Mount, in fear that a visitor might enter the Temple location. On the other side, there are those who do not see, based on the same halakha, any wrongdoing in Jews entering the Temple Mount while observing the halakhic purity laws, and getting only to certain areas of the Mount. Additionally there are others (mainly Religious Zionists) who even see visiting the site as a Mitzvah, meaning prayer there should be considered a religious duty. Restrictions on entry The Israeli government has imposed restrictions on all three religious groups – Jews, Christians and Muslims – on entry to Temple Mount (known to Muslims as Al-Aqsa). Against Jews and Christians Christians and Jews may only visit the site as tourists and only for four hours per day five days per week. Israel also restricts the number of religious Jews that can visit at a time. Until 2003, it was limited to five; in 2003 it was increased to 10; in 2010 it was increased to 20 and in 2011 it was again increased to 50 at a time. Against Palestinian Muslims , the Israeli government had prohibits Palestinian Muslims under the age of 55 from entering Al-Aqsa during the month of Ramadan, which makes 95% of Palestinians ineligible. • July 1, 2011: Entry restricted to Muslim men over 45. • November 7, 2014: Entry restricted to Muslim men over 35. • October 4, 2015: Entry restricted to Muslim men over 50 for two days. • July 21, 2017: Entry restricted to Muslim men over 50. The Israeli NOG Emek Shaveh claimed in a report in June 2015 that Israel's entrance restrictions amounted to changing the "status quo" of the Mount: : "The data shows that when there are political and security tensions in Jerusalem, the status quo on the Temple Mount / al-Haram al-Sharif is harmed. For example, in 2014 the Israeli police imposed age restrictions on worshipers 41 times. This amounts to nearly 15% of the year. This number indicates that the feeling among Palestinians that Israel is changing the status quo in the area, is backed up by police data, even if the restrictions are made due to extenuating circumstances, such as the murder attempt of Yehuda Glick. At the same time there is a direct link between rising restrictions on visitors in 2013 and 2014 and increasing attempts by right-wing groups to upset the status quo in the area." ==See also==