TEL AVIV (Sputnik) — Israel will reopen the Temple Mount holy place on Sunday afternoon after shutting it for two days after terrorist attack, in which two policemen were shot dead, the press service of Israeli prime minister Netanyahu said on Saturday.
"It is decided to open access to the Temple Mount for believers and visitors tomorrow," the press release said.
On Friday, two Israeli policemen died, and a third was wounded after three armed assailants opened fire at the Temple Mount complex. The police pursued and killed the assailants. Following the attack, the complex was cleared of visitors and closed off to carry out searches at the site.
Netanyahu said that Israel would take all necessary measures to ensure security at the holy place, and the status quo of the site would not change. The status quo suggests that the Temple Mount, where the mosques of al-Aqsa and Qubbat al-Sakhra stand on the ruins of ancient Jewish temples, is under the autonomous administration of the Islamic religious trust Waqf, only the followers of Islam can pray on the site, and representatives of other religious traditions are allowed to visit it freely. For many times, events on the Temple Mount and even rumors about Israel's alleged plans to restore the Jewish presence there have become a catalyst for large-scale escalations of the Middle East conflict with many victims on both sides.
