The opposite risked exacerbating tensions.
Muslim faithful will be allowed to pray on the Esplanade des Mosques in Jerusalem “in the same number as in previous years” during Ramadan, the Israeli government announced in a statement on Tuesday.
In the midst of the war in Gaza, the government specified that the number of worshipers authorized to go to the esplanade would be reassessed every week based on security criteria.
The Muslim month of fasting, which begins on Sunday, sees tens of thousands of faithful come there each year to pray.
“We will do everything to guarantee freedom of worship on the Temple Mount and allow Muslims to celebrate (Ramadan), while taking into account security requirements,” declared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening of a meeting dedicated to Ramadan.
The Esplanade des Mosques (or Temple Mount for Jews) is the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest place in Judaism.
If this Muslim holy site is administered by Jordan, Israel imposes restrictions there, in particular on the number of faithful or their age.
Ben Gvir had called for Jewish control of the esplanade
The context is particularly tense this year as the war rages in Gaza, after the unprecedented attack by Palestinian Hamas in Israel on October 7.
Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, head of a far-right group favorable to Jewish control of the esplanade, called last month to prohibit access to Palestinians from the occupied West Bank during Ramadan.
“Hamas celebrations on the Temple Mount?
complete victory,” he posted X shortly after the Israeli government’s announcement on Tuesday.
Washington, for its part, called on Israel last week to “facilitate access to the Temple Mount for peaceful worshipers during Ramadan, in accordance with past practices.”
Egyptian, American and Qatari mediators are trying to extract a compromise from Israel and Hamas in order to obtain a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip before the start of Ramadan.
US President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday of a “very dangerous” situation particularly in Jerusalem if hostilities continued in Gaza during Ramadan.