Why Dayan Returned Authority
After the war, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan made the strategic choice to return administrative control of the Temple Mount to the Islamic Waqf to prevent a larger religious war.
Critics and Legacy
Some praised Dayan’s pragmatism. Others accused him of relinquishing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to assert full Jewish sovereignty over Judaism’s holiest site.
Sources: Dayan Memoirs, Knesset Records, JVL