Hours before the first Friday of Ramadan, it was reported that Police Commissioner Yaakov 'Kobi' Shabtai sent a letter today (Thursday) to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military secretary and warned him that without limiting the number of worshipers, there is no way to meet the safety requirements on the Temple Mount tomorrow.
Kan News reported that according to the Commissioner's letter, at the end of last week's discussion with the Prime Minister, Netanyahu instructed the police to examine the issue of safety on the Temple Mount.
Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir agreed last month that the ascension of Arab-Israelis to the Temple Mount would be limited during the month of Ramadan. The police set the safety limit on the mount to 50,000 worshipers. However, it has not yet been decided what will be the age above which worshipers will be allowed to ascend to the Temple Mount and what the number of worshipers will be.
In his letter to Netanyahu, Shabtai warned that attempts to limit the incoming crowd, even without an age restriction, could lead to a significant escalation.
Shabtai demanded immediate instructions from Netanyahu. "I will ask to receive the directive from the political level today regarding the course of action the police are required to take - does the fear of a security flare-up following the limitation of the number of worshipers outweigh the safety risks?"