Chairwoman Miri Regev of the Knesset Interior Affairs and Environmental Protection Committee said, Sunday, that the question of Jewish ascent to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City is political and not a matter of halkha (Jewish law). Speaking during a committee hearing on Jews going up to the holy site during the holidays of the Jewish month of Tishrei, she added that the rights of the Jews to go up to the Temple Mount were no less than those of Palestinian Authority residents. She also asked the Israel Police to prepare for the Tishrei holidays accordingly and allow Jewish entry to the holy site.
One of the topics of the hearing was the barring of Jews from the Temple Mount during the recently-concluded Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Regev protested the fact that representatives of the Prime Minister's Office were not present at the hearing and asked that they be present at the next hearing on the matter to present the government's policy on the matter.