Ben Gvir Ascends the Temple Mount Just Before Yom Yerushalayim

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir ascended the Temple Mount Thursday morning in a highly symbolic visit, during which he waved the Israeli flag and declared that sovereignty had been restored to the contested holy site.

The minister's appearance at the compound, which came just days before Jerusalem Day commemorations, drew immediate attention as he publicly brandished Israel's national flag, a gesture that typically triggers tensions at the sensitive location. Ben Gvir used the occasion to tout what he described as a fundamental shift in the security posture at the mount.

"We have restored sovereignty at the Temple Mount through determination and deterrence," Ben Gvir stated during his visit. The minister specifically pointed to the recently concluded Muslim holy month of Ramadan, asserting that "this year saw the quietest Ramadan, and that came through deterrence."

Ben Gvir concluded his remarks at the site with the historic declaration first uttered by IDF General Motta Gur during the 1967 Six-Day War: "The Temple Mount is in our hands!"

The minister's visit came amid what officials described as a broader shift in Jewish access to the Temple Mount. Earlier this week, Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, a member of Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party, called on Jews to visit the Temple Mount ahead of Jerusalem Day, praising what he characterized as a "revolution" led by Ben Gvir at the site.

"I call upon all the people of Israel to ascend the Temple Mount and see with their own eyes the revolution led by Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on the mount," Wasserlauf stated Tuesday. "Jews no longer walk around the mount like thieves and no longer need to hide."

Hundreds of Jewish Visitors Ascend

Prior to Ben Gvir's arrival, hundreds of Jewish visitors had already ascended to the Temple Mount Thursday morning. The visitors entered in groups under police escort and security supervision, reflecting what observers noted as increased Jewish presence at the site in recent months.

Activists from the organization "Beyadenu" (In Our Hands) conducted a flag march across the Temple Mount compound earlier in the day. Following the conclusion of their procession, Israeli police detained several of the activists.

Akiva Yoel Ariel, acting CEO of Beyadenu, defended the group's actions: "Jewish and Zionist identity is what guides and leads us. The victory cry 'The Temple Mount is in our hands' by Motta Gur still echoes to this day. No one will succeed in erasing our identity—the people of Israel live!"

Context and Implications

The Temple Mount remains one of the most volatile flashpoints in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The site, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock and is considered the third holiest site in Islam. For Jews, it is the holiest site in Judaism as the location of the First and Second Temples.

Under the status quo arrangement established after 1967, Jews are permitted to visit the Temple Mount during specific hours but are prohibited from praying there. Ben Gvir and his political allies have long advocated for changing this arrangement to allow Jewish prayer at the site—a position that has drawn fierce opposition from Palestinian leaders and concern from international partners.

The minister's flag-waving visit Thursday represents the latest in a series of high-profile appearances at the Temple Mount that have tested the boundaries of the existing arrangements. His assertion that sovereignty has been "restored" through deterrence suggests a deliberate policy shift aimed at normalizing greater Israeli control over the compound.

The timing of Ben Gvir's visit, coming just before Jerusalem Day celebrations, adds symbolic weight to his message. Jerusalem Day marks the anniversary of Israel's capture of East Jerusalem and the Old City during the 1967 war—an event that religious Zionists view as a miraculous reunification of the eternal Jewish capital.