Jerusalem police first permit – then ban – Jewish visitors on Temple Mount

The Ninth of Av, the annual day of Jewish lamentation and fast for the destruction of the First and Second Temples and Exile, coincides this year with the Muslim feast of Ramadan. Jerusalem police first allowed Jews access to Temple Mount Sunday morning – then backtracked for fear Muslims praying at al Aqsa would clash with the Jewish pilgrims. Jews were therefore confined to the Kotel, the Wailing Wall, and denied entry to Temple Mount, stirring angry protest among many pilgrims and tourists.
Places of entertainment shut down in Israel from sundown to sundown on this national day of mourning.