Some 500 Jews plan to fly Israeli flags atop the Temple Mount on Independence Day, the move's organizer, Beyadenu, announced Thursday.
Beyadenu is a non-profit organization that supports the realization and application of full Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount, full equal rights for Jews on there, and the restoration of the site back to its natural status as the heart of the Jewish nation.
The organization describes the holy site as "a place of ascension, a place of longing and aspiration, a central spiritual, religious, and national site where Jews can ascend freely, visit, and worship."
On Wednesday, a billboard was mounted on the northbound Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv announcing Beyadunu's intention that declared.
The sign read, "On Independence Day, we raise the flag on the Temple Mount."
Israeli Independence Day will begin the evening of May 13th and conclude the following evening.
Throughout Passover, a new record of Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount was broken, as over 4,000 people visited the site despite the limited number of days of the holiday compared to previous years.
Some Jewish visitors complained about how they were treated, saying they were not allowed to mutter prayer verses and were ordered to hurry and not to linger with explanations and stops on the Mount.
The police detained former MK Aryeh Eldad and Rabbi Aryeh Cohen after refusing to comply with illegal orders, according to Beyadenu.
Comments from Beyadenu
The CEO of Beyadenu, Tom Nisani, commented, "For anyone who had doubts until now, the conflict is not based solely on historical injustices due to the 'occupation' or the British government's policy 80 years ago. It is not a coincidence that many soldiers who arrived at houses in Gaza found the image of the Dome of the Rock engraved on the walls. It is certainly not a coincidence that the terrorist organization Hamas chose to call for a massacre during the celebration of Simchat Torah in the name of the Temple Mount. This is a religious-national conflict, and so far, the State of Israel has refused to address it and demonstrate true sovereignty on the Temple Mount.”
Nisani then added that it is unfortunate that the Waqf is the entity that manages the Waqf, something that “must be corrected.”
“So far, 500 ascendants have announced they will raise Israeli flags on the Mount on Independence Day," Nisani added. "This is the resolute response to terror. Those who involved themselves in battle with our enemies will prove on Independence Day that our national stature has only doubled."
The Jerusalem Post has reached out to the IDF for comment but has not yet received a response.