
Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai told Israel National News on Thursday that the police draw strength from the sight of the many worshipers who visit the Western Wall and the Temple Mount during the Tishrei holidays.
"We are happy to see Jerusalem with thousands who come to pray at the Western Wall and the crowds who come to the Temple Mount - this gives us, as the police, the motivation and the strength to invest and put as many police officers as possible in as many places as possible to allow everyone to celebrate the holidays," Shabtai said.
To the question of whether there has been a policy change regarding visits to the Temple Mount, the commissioner replied, "There is no policy change. We allow anyone who wants to go up to the Temple Mount to do so, but within the existing guidelines."
"What has changed is that there are more and more Jews who want to visit and we are doing everything we can to make this possible. We expect everyone to respect the rules and behave accordingly because we want to continue to preserve this without creating unnecessary provocations," he concluded.