Israel’s President Isaac Herzog assured US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew on Sunday that the Jewish State will continue to uphold the status quo on the Temple Mount.
The meeting between the two men was scheduled sometime last week prior to the death on Friday of a dual Turkish-US national during Arab clashes with Israeli forces in the Palestinian Authority town of Beta, according to sources in the president’s office who spoke with JewishPress.com.
During the meeting, Herzog expressed his concern for the stability in the region with rising tensions over the Temple Mount, the upcoming month of Jewish high holidays and the first-year anniversary of the October 7th invasion of Israel and massacre of 1,200 by thousands of Hamas-led terrorists.
Noting that Iranian backed terror is continuing to threaten Israel on multiple fronts, Herzog told Lew that the status quo will continue to be maintained on the Temple Mount, one of the most sacred sites in the Jewish faith and the third holiest site in Islam.
The Jordanian Islamic Waqf Authority has been caretaker over the Islamic mosques on the site since its appointment following the 1967 Six Day War. The Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa mosques, both sacred to Muslims, are also located on the site of the First and Second Holy Temples of Jerusalem, sacred to Jews.
The site itself, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, remains in the hands of the State of Israel. Daily visiting hours allowing Jews and other non-Muslims to ascend to the Temple Mount are challenged constantly by radical Islamists and terrorist leaders who routinely claim that Israeli Jews are “storming” the site and planning to deny access to Muslims.
With the approach of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar coinciding with the first anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust — a massacre carried out by radical Islamic Hamas terrorists — tensions are running especially high.
Moreover, Sunday’s murder of three Israeli civilians at the Allenby Crossing by a Jordanian citizen who was driving a truck intended to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, could further exacerbate the situation. That possibility was also discussed at the meeting, which the sources in the president’s office characterized as “prescheduled” and “routine”.
Expressing deep sadness over the “abhorrent terror attack,” Herzog sent “heartfelt sympathies” to the families of the victims in a statement following the meeting and pledged a thorough investigation of the attack on both sides of the Israeli-Jordanian border.
“The peace agreements between Israel and its neighbors are a cornerstone of stability in the region,” Herzog emphasized in a clear reference to the Jordanian government. He added that Israeli officials “trust all parties will thoroughly investigate the incident” and work to prevent future attacks.
“This horrific act reinforces our resolve to stand firm in the face of terror, and we will continue to fight with determination against terrorism and extremist elements which seek to undermine our security, and the stability of the whole region,” he added.
Herzog also stressed to the US ambassador his appreciation for America’s ongoing efforts to secure the release of the 101 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
