Arab nations condemn Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem

Posted 10h ago10 hours ago, updated 9m ago9 minutes ago

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Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has briefly visited the compound that houses the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, a move condemned by Palestinians as provocative and despite warnings it could lead to violence.

“The Temple Mount is open to all,” Mr Ben-Gvir said on Twitter, using the Jewish name for the site.

An accompanying photograph showed him strolling at the periphery of the compound, surrounded by a clutch of bodyguards and flanked by a fellow Orthodox Jew.

An Israeli official said the quarter-hour visit took place in accordance with a so-called status quo arrangement, dating back decades, that allows non-Muslims to visit on condition they do not pray.

The visit passed without incident, the official said. However, it sparked condemnation from neighbouring Arab states.

Jordan, the custodian of al-Aqsa and whose peace deal with Israel is unpopular at home, summoned the Israeli ambassador and said the visit had violated international law and “the historic and legal status quo in Jerusalem”.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh cast the visit to the holy site as a bid to turn a major mosque there “into a Jewish temple”.

Addressing his cabinet, Mr Shtayyeh called on Palestinians to “confront the raids into al-Aqsa mosque” after Mr Ben-Gvir toured the periphery of the mosque compound.

A spokesman for Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza and rejects coexistence with Israel, said of the visit: “A continuation of this behaviour will bring all parties closer to a big clash.”

Saudi Arabia also condemned the visit as a “provocative action” and, without referring to him by name, said Mr Ben-Gvir had “stormed” the al-Aqsa mosque compound.

The United Arab Emirates, despite signing a normalisation agreement with Israel in 2020, echoed Saudi sentiments regarding the “storming” of the holy site, condemning the Israeli minister’s actions, according to a state news agency.

Mr Ben-Gvir’s actions appear to have stirred Israel’s allies as well, with a White House National Security Council spokesperson saying on Tuesday any unilateral action jeopardising status quo of Jerusalem holy sites is unacceptable.

“The United States stands firmly for preservation of the status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem. Any unilateral action that jeopardises the status quo is unacceptable,” they said.

The United States called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to preserve his commitment to the status quo of holy sites.

The rise of Mr Ben-Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party, to join a religious-nationalist coalition under re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has deepened Palestinians’ anger over the long frustrations of their goal of statehood.

In fresh violence in nearby Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager during a clash, medical officials and witnesses said.

There was no immediate comment from the army.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said it “strongly condemns the storming of al-Aqsa mosque by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir and views it as unprecedented provocation and a dangerous escalation of the conflict”.

A spokesman for Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group that rejects coexistence with Israel, said al-Aqsa “will remain Palestinian, Arab and Islamic … and no fascist can change this fact”.

There was no indication that Mr Ben-Gvir approached the mosque, however.

Compound home to one of Islam, Judaism’s most holiest sites

Once an advocate of ending the ban on Jewish prayer at the compound, he has, since taking office, spoken in a more non-committal way about a need to enforce “non-discrimination” there.

“If Hamas thinks that it can deter me with threats, it should understand that times have changed,” Mr Ben-Gvir said on Twitter.

“There is a government in Jerusalem!”

On Monday, a Jewish Power politician, Almog Cohen, told Israel’s Kan radio that the party’s “aspiration is — yes, God willing, for all religions to be able to pray on the Temple Mount”.

But Mr Netanyahu, now in his sixth term as premier, has pledged to preserve the “status quo” around holy sites.

The al-Aqsa compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is Islam’s third-holiest site. It is also Judaism’s most sacred site, a vestige of two ancient temples of the faith.

Located in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a 1967 war, the compound further serves as a focus of Palestinian hopes of founding a state in those territories.

Israel deems all of Jerusalem its indivisible capital — a status not recognised internationally.

Reuters