The number of Jews and non-Jews, excluding Muslims, that visited the Temple Mount (Har Habyit in Hebrew) in 2015 dropped from previous years, according to a report in Makor Rishon.
In the case of Jewish visitors, mostly religious, their numbers dipped slightly in 2015, solely due to the police restricting the physical number of Jews allowed onto the Jewish holy site.
Many Jews wait in line for hours at the gates to the Temple Mount, only to be denied entrance by the Israeli police. In addition, All Jewish visitors must receive special instructions from the police and some even undergo body searches.
By the end of 2015, Israeli Police were only allowing 15 religious Jews onto the Temple Mount at any given time, and only during very limited visiting hours, restricting visits to 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Looking back to 2010, the number of Jews that went up in 2015 (10,766), was double the number that went up in 2010 (5,658). The demand is rising, but so are the restrictions.
Once on the Temple Mount, Jewish visitors are harassed and assaulted by the Muslims occupying the Jewish holy site, and often visits are forced to be cut short.
For non-Jewish, non-Islamic tourists, the numbers that visited the Temple Mount in 2015 severely dropped to less than half the amount that visited in 2010. This despite the fact that the number of tourists visiting Israel remained steady at around 3 million visitors a year.
In 2010, the number of non-Jewish (non-Muslim) tourists visiting the Temple Mount exceeded 400,000 visitors. In 2015, that number dropped to 193,000.
The reason the numbers of non-Jewish tourists dropped is due to the unpleasant and threatening atmosphere that is created by the Muslims and the Waqf on the Jewish holy site, towards the non-Islamic visitors.
Last year, the Waqf forced a group of Christian tourists off the Temple Mount, because they looked too Jewish.
There are virtually no numerical or time restriction on Muslim visits to Israel’s Temple Mount, except when the Arabs are rioting too much, and then the police may temporarily place age limits for a day.
The Temple Mount is the location of the two Jewish Temples, first built by King Solomon.