Israel’s new far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir briefly visited Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Tuesday, a site also revered by Jews, prompting fierce condemnation from the Palestinians and several Arab countries.
“The Temple Mount is open to all,” Ben-Gvir said on Twitter, using the Jewish name for the site.
Video footage showed him strolling at the periphery of the compound, surrounded by a heavy security detail and flanked by a fellow Orthodox Jew.
An Israeli official said the 15-minute visit by Ben-Gvir, a top member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nationalist-religious cabinet, complied with a so-called status-quo arrangement dating back decades that allows non-Muslims to visit on condition they do not pray. He did not approach the mosque.
Although the visit passed without incident, it risks stoking tensions with Palestinians that have already been running high after an upsurge in violence in the occupied West Bank in the past year.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on Palestinians to “confront the raids into Al Aqsa mosque”. He accused Ben-Gvir of staging the visit as part of a bid to turn the shrine “into a Jewish temple”.
Israel denies having such designs. Ben-Gvir once advocated ending a ban on Jewish prayer at the site, but has been more non-committal on the issue since aligning with Netanyahu. Other members of his Jewish Power party still advocate such a move.—Reuters
