From 1948-1967, Jordan violated the 1949 Armistice Agreement by denying Israelis access to the Western Wall and by putting restrictions on Israeli Christian pilgrims and native Christians. It also desecrated Jewish sacred places and ravaged the ancient Jewish quarter.

After the 1967 war, Israel abolished all the discriminatory laws promulgated by Jordan and adopted its own tough standard for safeguarding access to religious shrines. "Whoever does anything that is likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the various religions to the places sacred to them," Israeli law stipulates, is "liable to imprisonment for a term of five years." Israel also entrusted administration of the holy places to their respective religious authorities. Consequently, the Muslim Waqf has responsibility for the mosques on the Temple Mount, though it is the holiest site in Judaism.