Israel Gave up the Temple Mount for Peace

In the time of Ancient Israel, the Temple Mount was the Holiest site in all of Judaism.  It is the place where King Solomon built the First Holy Temple as the resting place for the Ark of the Covenant.  The place of the Ark was known appropriately as the Holiest of Holies.  Nobody was permitted to enter this sacred place except for the High Priest, and he could only enter on Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement.  The Temple Mount to this day is sacred to the Jewish people, and yet, the Jewish nation of Israel gave the site over the the Muslim Arabs in exchange for the hope of peace!

In the aftermath of the 6-Day War of 1967, the Temple Mount found itself under Jewish control for the first time since the Bar Kokhba Revolt of 132 A.D.  Yet the first thing that the nation of Israel did was return the site back to the Arabs and begin placing serious limitations on Jewish and Christian rights on the Temple Mount.  Ever since the 6-Day War of 1967, Muslims have been free to enter the Temple Mount at any gate they please.  They're free to gather publicly, worship, and pray without any fear.  The only restrictions that are put in place are designed to protect the people from violent attacks, which is not uncommon as we see similar restrictions at sites throughout the world.  Yet both Jews and Christians are only permitted to enter through the Mughrabi Gate, they can only enter during certain days and specified times, and they are forbidden to pray or display any of their religious texts.  

The fact that the Jewish people of Israel gave up their right to pray at their holiest site in the hope of establishing a lasting peace is nothing short of astounding, and frankly, nothing like this should ever have even been asked of them!  One would never expect the Catholic Church to give up their rights to administer and pray at the Vatican, nor would one ever expect the nation of Saudi Arabia to give up their right to administer and pray at the Grand Mosque of Mecca!  Yet the Jewish people willingly gave up their holiest site to people who have repeatedly attacked them for decades in the hopes that showing such an incredible gesture will help finally bring an end to the ongoing conflict once and for all.  So many say that Israel needs to give more for peace, but frankly, I think they've already given more than anyone can ever ask of them.  

Sources:

Fendel, Hillel. "Status Quo?  Jews Prayed on the Temple Mount for Centuries."  Think-Israel.  Nov. 16, 2014.  Accessed from http://www.think-israel.org/fendel.templemountstatusquo.html.

Fuah, Michael.  "Special Report: Violation of Jewish Rights on the Temple Mount."  Think-Israel.  August 2013.  Accessed from http://www.think-israel.org/fuah.violationjewishrightsontemplemount.html.

Manjee, Aliya,  "I'm Muslim, Pro-Palestine, and Visited Israel."  Huffington Post.  March 11th, 2015.  Accessed from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/aliya-manjee/im-muslim-propalestine-an_b_6847926.html.

McArdle, Elaine.  "How to Visit the Temple Mount as a Tourist: Old City, Jerusalem, Israel."  Jan. 1, 2015.  Accessed from https://www.thewholeworldisaplayground.com/how-to-visit-temple-mount-tourist-non-muslim-israel-jerusalem/.