(VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Minister of Agriculture (Bayit Yehudi) Uri Ariel, who is among those who feel it is a mitzvah to visit Har Habayis, shared his feelings at the Shar Hallel entrance to the holy site on Thursday, 5 Tammuz.

Ariel expressed his tefilla that this coming Tisha B’Av will not be a fast day but one of joy as we celebrate the Third Beis Hamikdash. As a Kohen, he then gave a bracha to all present, Birkas Kohanim.

‘Shar Hallel’ was named after terror victim 13-year-old Hallel Yafeh HY”D, a resident of Kiryat Arba murdered by an Arab terrorist who infiltrated the family home and then stabbed her mercilessly as she slept in her bed.

Gedolei Yisrael over the generations and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel prohibit visiting Har Habayis, which they explain carries the punishment of karess.