Jewish men permitted to pray on Temple Mount with prayer books for first time, Ben-Gvir confirms

The move was done as part of an "initial experiment aimed at ensuring the Middle East doesn't lose its mind over this," journalist Arnon Segal reported.

Jewish men were permitted to bring prayer books onto the Temple Mount on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir confirmed to The Jerusalem Post, after right-wing journalist Arnon Segal shared a photo of Jewish men praying and reading from prayer books, claiming the photo was taken from the Temple Mount.

"Still no blanket permit, but an initial experiment aimed at ensuring the Middle East doesn't lose its mind over this," Segal claimed in his post. "History."

The minister had no further comment for the Post, which also reached out to the Israel Police for comment.

Under the longstanding status quo, Jews and Christians are permitted to visit the Temple Mount but are generally prohibited from praying there, while Muslims are permitted to worship. 

Temple Mount status quo for Jewish prayer shifting

In January, Israel Police began relaxing some restrictions on Jewish prayer at the site, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). Jewish visitors may now enter with a single printed prayer page prepared in advance, although prayer books remain prohibited.

On August 5, Arab and Muslim officials meeting in Amman condemned what they described as an Israeli “escalation” in “the occupied city of Jerusalem,” according to the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.

The officials agreed to condemn recent Israeli policies and measures that they claimed were intended to alter the “Arab, Islamic, and Christian identity” of Jerusalem, including what they called the “inflammatory” statements and actions of extremist settlers and Israeli government ministers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Christian holy sites.

Danielle Greyman-Kennard and Keshet Neev contributed to this report.