In an unprecedented move for a US official of this position, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife visited the Shiloh settlement northeast of Ramallah. Huckabee began his tour by inspecting a farm where red cows are raised.

International media reported that Huckabee met with the head of the settlement council, Yisrael Gantz, during his visit, a move seen as breaking with the practice of previous US ambassadors who have refrained from visiting the West Bank.

Huckabee is known for his outspoken support for the Israeli settlement project and his use of biblical terms such as "Judea and Samaria" to refer to the West Bank, in keeping with the settlers' religious orientations.

Huckabee's visit included a farm housing five red cows, which extremist "Temple" groups consider a religious sign of the imminent construction of the "Third Temple" on the site of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the appearance of what they call the "awaited Messiah."

Five red cows arrived in Israel in September 2022 from Texas, USA, amid growing interest from extremist groups seeking to meet religious requirements for using these cows in purification rituals, according to the texts of the Mishnah—a commentary on the Torah included in the Talmud.

The red cow must be purely red, free of any other color, unused for any work, without a rope around its neck, and raised in the Land of Israel. After reaching the age of two, according to their beliefs, a "purification ritual" may be performed on the Mount of Olives opposite Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The alleged rituals include slaughtering a cow on a specific day, then burning it according to special rituals, and collecting its ashes to be used to purify the Jewish people from the "impurity of the dead." This, they claim, paves the way for Jews from all over the world to ascend to the "House of God," a reference to the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli Chief Rabbinate continues to prohibit entry into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, claiming that ritual purity requirements are not met. Meanwhile, Temple groups continue their efforts to change the status quo at Al-Aqsa.