Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Sunday (May 21) visited the Al-Aqsa mosque for the second time since he took office and declared that Israel was “in charge” of the disputed holy site in Jerusalem. The move has since drawn condemnation from Palestinians and also comes amid recent escalations and a rise in tensions between Israel and Palestine.
Ben-Gvir’s visit to Al-Aqsa mosque
The comments came during an early morning visit to the compound that lies in the Old City of Jerusalem which is known as Temple Mount to Jews and deemed Judaism’s most sacred site and vestige of two ancient temples of the faith. “I’m happy to ascend the Temple Mount, the most important place for the people of Israel,” said Ben-Gvir.
As per the long-standing agreements Jews are permitted to visit the site, but not to pray at Temple Mount. However, the site has recently witnessed an influx of Jewish visitors who have increasingly been defying the ban, more or less openly. This has also sparked fears among Palestinians who have called it a provocation in the past.
The Israeli minister’s visit also comes days after Israelis marked Jerusalem Day which celebrates Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City, following the Middle East war in 1967. “All the threats from Hamas will not help, we are in charge here in Jerusalem and all of the Land of Israel,” said Ben-Gvir.
The national security minister also went on to post an image of himself on Telegram at Al-Aqsa mosque and wrote, “Jerusalem is our soul.” He added, “The threats of Hamas will not deter us, I went up to the Temple Mount!” The visit was also later confirmed by the Israeli police who said that it passed without any incidents.
Israeli Cabinet meeting in Old City
Hours after the controversial visit, on Sunday, top politicians from Israel also held a rare Cabinet meeting in the tunnels beneath the Western Wall. “Time and again, my friends and I have been forced to repel international pressure on the part of those who would divide Jerusalem again,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as quoted by AFP, at the beginning of the meeting.
He also said how some leaders in Israel were “prepared to give in to those pressures” but “we have acted differently” and also reportedly went on to celebrate the expansion of Israeli settlement in east Jerusalem which is deemed illegal by the international community. This comes also after several people expressed concerns over the newly elected government of Netanyahu and his right-wing allies, particularly over their relations with Palestinians.
Palestine calls visit ‘playing with fire’
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Israeli minister’s “incursion at an early hour, like thieves, into the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards will not change the reality and will not impose Israeli sovereignty over it.” The president’s office also called the “harming” of Al-Aqsa mosque “playing with fire”.
Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the region will be pushed “into a religious war with unimaginable consequences that will affect everyone.” He also called Ben-Gvir’s visit a “blatant attack” on the mosque.
The militant group that rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, Hamas’ spokesman said Israel would bear the consequences for the “savage assault” on the Al-Aqsa mosque. It added, the move “confirms the depths of danger looming over Al-Aqsa, under this Zionist fascist government and the arrogance of its ministers from the extreme right.”
The Jordanian Waqf Islamic affairs council, which serves as the custodian of the mosque, called the Israeli minister’s visit a “blatant storming and desecration of the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque”. “No less dangerous is the call by the occupation (Israeli) government to hold its meeting this morning in the Western Wall area,” said the Waqf, in a statement.
Jordan’s foreign ministry called the visit a “provocative step” which is “condemned” as well as a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation.” It added that the move, “represents a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law, and of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites”.
The incident comes after the fighting between Israel and Gaza militants ended just last week following an Egypt-mediated truce between the two factions. At least 34 Palestinians and one Israeli were killed during the hostilities which went on for days. Egypt’s foreign ministry on Sunday asked Israel to “immediately stop the escalatory practices which inflame the pre-existing state of tension in the occupied (Palestinian) territories.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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