By Abeer Salman, Irene Nasser and Elliott Gotkine, CNN
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Tuesday visited the Jerusalem compound known as the Temple Mount through Jews and the Haram al-Sharif or Noble Shrine through Muslims, in a move that drew condemnation.
Videos posted to Israeli media showed Ben Gvir walking through the compound surrounded by Israeli police.
Tensions are rising over the Flashpoint complex, which is Judaism’s holiest site and Islam’s third-holiest site. It comprises the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the site of the first Jewish temples destroyed at the time. Only Muslims can pray in the compoundunder a decades-old agreement; Ben Gvir believes that Jews also have the right to pray there.
Palestinians opposed the visit.
“We strongly condemn extremist Ben Gvir’s attack on Al-Aqsa Holy Mosque, and consider it an unprecedented provocation and a serious threat,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We hold (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu guilty for his consequences in the confrontation and in the region.
Ben Gvir entered the compound on Tuesday, but not the construction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque itself. The lawmaker’s first stop since being sworn in last week as national security minister, in what is expected to be the top-right government in Israel’s history. It is led by Netanyahu, who is returning for his sixth term as prime minister at the head of a coalition that includes several extremist parties.
Ben Gvir, the leader of the far-right Jewish Power party (Otzma Yehudit), has been convicted in the past of supporting terrorism and inciting racism against Arabs. As Minister of National Security, he oversees the police in Israel as well as some police activities. activities in the occupied West Bank.
Hamas, the Palestinian militant organization that regulates Gaza, warned that Ben Gvir’s would be a “precursor to the conflagration of the region” and would “add fuel to the fire. “
“The Israeli government of which I am a member will not stand up to a vile murderous organization,” Ben Gvir responded in a tweet. perceives that times have changed. There is a government in Jerusalem!
Under the so-called prestige quo agreement dating back to Ottoman rule of Jerusalem, only Muslims can pray inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and non-Muslims can only stop at the compound at certain times. Israel and other states agreed to prestige the quo access to those holy sites after Israel captured them in the 1967 war.
Some teams of devout Jewish nationalists have demanded dominance of the Temple Mount for Jewish prayer. There have been several cases of Jewish visitors praying in the compound, prompting outrage from the Muslim government and forced evictions by Israeli police.
Visits by Israeli political figures have traditionally preceded periods of violence between Israel and Palestinians. The visit of conservative Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon to the compound in September 2000 contributed to the start of the Second Intifada, a years-long Palestinian uprising against Israel. .
Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid criticized Netanyahu’s visit, calling him “weak” for entrusting “the irresponsible top Middle East to the highest explosive position in the Middle East. “
In a tweet, Lapid called the “provocation that will lead to violence that will endanger human life and claim human lives,” and said it’s time for Netanyahu to tell Ben Gvir, “You’re not going up to the Temple Mount. Because others people are going to die.
He also attracted a chorus from foreign critics.
The UAE “strongly condemned the assault on the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by an Israeli minister under the cover of Israeli forces,” without mentioning Ben Gvir by name.
The Gulf country has tried to defend the Palestinians while balancing its newly formed partnership with Israel. The country has issued condemnations in the past, especially for occasions that increase tension around Jerusalem’s holy sites.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry “warned of the negative repercussions of such measures on security and stability” and called on “all parties to exercise restraint and duty and chorus of any measure that may aggravate the situation. “
Jordan condemned Ben Gvir’s in the “strongest terms,” calling it a “flagrant and unacceptable violation of foreign law and the ancient and legal prestige quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites. “
The Jordanian monarchy has been the custodian of Jerusalem’s holy sites since 1924 and sees itself as a guarantor of Muslim and Christian rights in the city.
The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation also issued a ruling condemning Israel for the repercussions of the “aggression” against the Palestinian people.
A spokesman for the U. S. Embassy The U. S. said: “Ambassador (Tom) Nides has been very transparent in conversations with the Israeli government about the factor of preserving the prestige quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites. The actions that save this are unacceptable.
The British consulate in Jerusalem said on Facebook it was “concerned” about Ben Gvir’s stopover and said it “remains committed to the prestige quo. “
In a tweet Tuesday night, Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, warned of “actions that may increase tensions. “
The head of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah said it would not only cause unrest in the Palestinian territories “but could inflame the entire region. “In a televised speech on Tuesday, Hassan Nasrallah also said Hezbollah did not worry Israel’s new right. wing of government. ” It’s made of monsters and crazy,” he said.
Netanyahu insisted Tuesday that his government was not seeking to replace regulations at the site. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is committed to strictly maintaining the prestige quo, without replacement, on the Temple Mount,” an official at his workplace said.
Under the quo, ministers have climbed the Temple Mount in recent years, adding Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan; Therefore, the assertion that a substitution of the quo has been made is unfounded.
El-CNN-Wire™
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