Tension at Al-Aqsa Mosque is deepening with each day of the Israel-Hamas war
JERUSALEM — At 7 a.m. every weekday, the large green doors of the mosque at the Al-Aqsa compound, usually wide open, close with a bang as Palestinian worshippers shutter themselves inside. Israeli police begin to take their positions in front of the mosque and around the Dome of the Rock, in preparation for the arrival of dozens of nationalist and religious Israeli Jews.
One frequent visitor is Yehuda Glick, a leader in the movement pushing for Jewish prayer at the compound. The U.S.-born rabbi and right-wing former Israeli lawmaker comes in with a group. They stop at the stairs leading to the Dome of the Rock and begin to pray.
Years ago, Glick was arrested for coming here to pray. Now he walks in, protected by police.
"Bless the state of Israel, God almighty, please unite our hearts to rebuild your temple," Glick says, referring to a third temple that some Jews hope to build where the Dome of the Rock — one of the holiest sites in Islam — now stands.
"This is what we are here for: to make sure this is a house of prayer for all nations. And when I
