In a triumphant moment after winning the six-day war, Israel’s flag was hoisted over the newly conquered Temple Mount—then quickly taken down. WHY?

 

From Friends of Israel.org - "To the Christians the Temple Mount is sacred because it’s the place Jesus was dedicated to the Lord; it’s where He taught; and where He overturned the money tables. He even prophesied against the Temple. It’s also where many of the apostles taught about Jesus in the book of Acts.

 

Finally, to the Muslims the Temple Mount is considered the third most holy site in Islam. In Muslim tradition it’s believed that Muhammad ascended to Allah from the Temple Mount. The Dome of the Rock is a Muslim shrine that marks the location from which Muhammad ascended. Also, the famous Al-Asqa Mosque sits at the southern end of the Mount.

This small but very sacred site has been passed from hand-to-hand over the past 3,000 years. The ancient Israelites controlled it, as have the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, Turks, British, Jordanians, and now the modern Israelis. So if the modern Israelis control East Jerusalem, how do the Muslims have control of the Temple Mount?

After the dust settled from the Six-Day War, Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol returned the authority of the Temple Mount to the Islamic Waqf. The Waqf are the Islamic guardians of Muslim holy sites; they watch over them and make sure they are being managed properly. Levi Eshkol returned the Temple Mount to the Islamic Waqf as a gesture of peace to the Arab world. He vowed, “No harm whatsoever shall come to the places sacred to all religions.”

So while the Muslims have authority to manage the Temple Mount according to their laws, traditions, and practices, the Israelis technically have control over the Temple Mount. The Israeli police manage the Temple Mount, standing guard at the entrances and exits. The Israeli police work with the Islamic Waqf to provide safe entrance at specific times during the day for non-Muslims to tour the Temple Mount.