Pictured Above: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. Credit: Secretary of Defense via Wikimedia Commons.

(JNS.org) Saudi Arabia’s King Salman intervened to end the closure of the Temple Mount following the terror attack that killed two Israeli police officers near the flashpoint holy site last Friday, the London-based Arabic news website Elaph reported Tuesday.

Citing an unnamed “senior source,” the Arab media outlet reported that King Salman delivered a message to Jerusalem through the White House, urging Israel to reopen the Temple Mount to Muslim worshippers as quickly as possible.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly replied with reassurances that Israel had no intention of changing the status quo at the sensitive holy site, which forbids non-Muslim prayer. Netanyahu also purportedly invited Saudi officials to visit the Temple Mount, but has yet to receive a response. 

Israel reopened the Temple Mount complex to Muslims and members of other faiths Sunday amid bolstered security, including new metal detectors placed at the holy site’s entrance gates. The new security measures sparked clashes in Jerusalem’s Old City Sunday when Muslim worshippers blocked a road in protest.

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