Islamic Waqf Announces Jerusalem’s Temple Mount to Be Reopened This Sunday
A worshiper walks in front of the Dome of the Rock in the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City, March 13, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ammar Awad.
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City will be reopened this Sunday.
The site — the holiest place in Judaism and also sacred to Muslims — has been closed for two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Israeli news site Walla reported that the Islamic Waqf, which administers the site, announced the reopening on Wednesday and noted that strict social-distancing procedures would be observed.
Specifically, the site’s outdoor plaza will have separate Muslim prayer areas demarcated that will accommodate 50 people each. Prayers will not immediately resume inside the mosques on the site.
The visits of Jews to the Temple Mount — who are not permitted to pray there according to the status quo in place since 1967 — are also set to be resumed.