There were 15 minutes to take a stand, but this resulted in a chorus of international criticism and fears that they could set fire to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s new National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, of the far right and known for his provocative actions, yesterday visited the complex of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. The visit is not banned, but Ben-Gvir’s ultra-nationalist views make it a risky move.
“The Israeli government, of which I am a member, will not surrender to a vile murderous organization. The Temple Mount is open to all and if Hamas thinks they will stop me if they threaten me, let them understand that times have changed. “. There is a government in Jerusalem”Ben-Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party, wrote on Twitter and shared a photo of the visit. This took place around 07:00, when Jews are allowed to enter the grounds, without access to the mosque.
Ben-Gvir, 46, was previously convicted of supporting terrorism and inciting racism against Arabs. But as holder of the National Security portfolio, he oversees police activity in Israel and the occupied West Bank. Last week, an official from Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, warned that the visit would be “a big red line” and that crossing it would “lead to an explosion.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry yesterday warned “of the dangerous consequences for the security and stability of the region”, which is “on the verge of collapse” due to Israel’s “provocations of the extremist government”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is back in power after an 18-month absence, in what is his sixth term, at the head of the country’s far-right government.
The new minister had already been there as a deputy – he defended in the past to lift the ban on prayers for Jews there – and had made it clear that he intended to repeat the visit as a member of the government. After meeting with Netanyahu on Monday, Israeli media said plans for the visit had been postponed. But Likud later said in a statement that the prime minister, “after consultations with security officials … has not asked Ben-Gvir not to visit the site”. The former head of government, Yair Lapid, had said that “people will die” if the visit took place.
Holy
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam – after the mosques in Mecca and Medina, both in Saudi Arabia. It is next to the Dome of the Rock, from which Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven. Jews are not allowed to pray on the Esplanade of the Mosques, which they know as the Temple Mount, which was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. All that remains is the Wailing Wall, the holiest site in Judaism.
The esplanade covers 14 hectares in the upper part of the Old City of East Jerusalem, in the Palestinian sector, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967. The complex is managed by Jordan, in cooperation with the Palestinian authorities and the Israeli police, who control access. Last week, King Abdullah II said in an interview with CNN that he was ready to “enter into a conflict” if Israel changed the status of this holy site. Yesterday, Jordanians condemned the mosque’s “violation of sanctity”.
In 2021, during Ramadan, the clashes that began in Jerusalem, including in Al-Aqsa, sparked 11 days of conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In 2000, a visit to the complex by Ariel Sharon, then leader of the opposition, with hundreds of officers in riot gear, was considered one of the factors that triggered the Second Intifada, which lasted several years.
chorus of criticism
Ben-Gvir’s visit is already having an impact on Israel, with much criticism from the international community. Netanyahu has already canceled the trip he planned to make next week to the United Arab Emirates, one of the Arab countries with which he signed the Abrahamic Treaties, with US mediation and will resume relations in 2020. It would be his first official trip to the country. The UAE condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit in a statement and reiterated its firm position on the need to provide full protection to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and end the serious and provocative violations taking place there.
But the calls for attention came not only from Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait or even Egypt or Turkey. The US Ambassador, Tom Nides, recalled the importance of preserving the status of sacred sites. “Actions that prevent this are unacceptable,” he said.
However, Netanyahu indicated that Israel is committed to “strictly maintaining the status quo” and that nothing has changed.
Source: DN
