The Biden administration says an Israeli proposal to end the ban on Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem would be an “unacceptable” disruption to the “historic status quo,” which only allows Muslims to pray there. The State Department was asked by the Washington Free Beacon last week if it would support proposals by conservative Israeli leaders to allow Jews to pray at the Temple Mount, which is a holy site for both Jews and Muslims.
“The United States stands firmly for preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem,” a State Department spokesman said. “Any unilateral actions that depart from the historic status quo is unacceptable.” Itamar Ben-Gvir, a national security minister in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, suggested during his visit to the Temple Mount earlier this month that Israel change the policy to allow Jews to pray at the site