Ninety-two percent more Jews have visited the Temple Mount since 2009, according to new police statistics. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – According to the figures, 5,658 Israeli Jews visited the Temple Mount in 2009. Then the number rose steadily year by year to a high of 10,906 in 2014, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Israel gained eastern Jerusalem along with its holy sites from Jordan during the 1967 Six Day War. However, the Temple Mount is administered by the Islamic Waqf, a Muslim trust overseen by Jordan that limits non-Muslim visitation and bans Jewish prayer.

The increase in Jewish visitors has been led by Jewish activist groups that have been calling for greater access to the Temple Mount.

Tensions over the Temple Mount increased late last year after several Arab leaders spoke out about Jewish visitation, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who called for Muslims to “prevent” Jews from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“We [Muslims] should all remain present at the Noble Sanctuary [Temple Mount],” Abbas said in a speech on October 17, 2014. “We must prevent them [Jews] from entering the Noble Sanctuary in any way. This is our Al-Aksa and our church. They have no right to enter and desecrate them. We must confront them and defend our holy sites,” Abbas said.

These tensions ignited violent Arab protests in and around Jerusalem that led to several terror attacks.