(JNS) Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said he was “delighted” when he learned that the UN Security Council held an emergency assembly on Thursday over the “silent, orderly and uneventful” stopover of an Israeli government minister on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. .
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) January 6, 2023
“I think if this framework were to come together to talk about such a trivial factor, we would obviously achieve world peace overnight,” Erdan said, mocking the council’s resolution to present a discussion on the factor at the request of the Palestinians.
Unsurprisingly, much of the rest of the council did not share Erdan’s view on Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Jewish holy site, which serves as a flashpoint for confrontation with the Palestinian Authority and its adjacent Al-Aqsa Mosque to the south. end of the Temple Mount.
Robert Wood, a diplomat representing the United States, told the Security Council: “We are engaged in any unilateral act that exacerbates tensions or undermines the viability of a two-state solution. “He added that the United States “strongly supports the preservation of the historical prestige quo regarding Jerusalem’s holy sites, on the Haram al-Sharif Temple Mount,” adding the site’s Jewish and Muslim names.
“In that spirit, we oppose all unilateral moves that deviate from the historic prestige quo and are unacceptable,” Wood said, noting that Washington expects Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to adhere to Netanyahu’s commitment to the prestige quo in holy Israel. He is accused of trampling.
Erdan noted that Ben-Gvir entered through the only non-Muslim front to the Temple Mount at one of the week’s limited hours for the admission of Jews, entered only through the main mandatory security points to protect him, and made no attempt at prayer.
He was given a long history lesson about the Temple Mount and the prestige quo there, saying, “Israel has not damaged the prestige quo and has no intention of doing so. The only party that is converting the prestige quo is the Palestinian Authority. Why Because by turning the mountain into a battlefield. . . the Palestinian Authority makes it clear that not only is Jewish prayer unbearable on the Temple Mount, but so is any Jewish presence.
Erdan called claims through the Palestinian Authority’s ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, that the Temple Mount complex is exclusive to Muslims a sacred “pure anti-Semitism. “
The UAE, which along with China, France and Malta convened the meeting, called the Temple Mount Ben-Gvir “the assault on the Al Aqsa Mosque” under the cover of Israeli forces.
UAE Deputy Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab and Jordanian Ambassador Mahmoud Hmoud said Ben-Gvir’s stopover was “provocative” and violated the site’s longstanding status.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, expressed “serious concern” over Ben-Gvir’s visit, adding that he hoped the new Israeli government “will not follow the path of escalation. “
Russia has been especially hostile to Israel for months at corresponding Security Council sessions, disappointed by the previous Israeli administration’s complaint about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. out through the new government, even though Netanyahu and Russian President Vladamir Putin have been on good terms.
It should be noted that no Security Council or joint solution emerged from Thursday’s meeting through the 15-member organization. Analysts have predicted that such measures will EE. UU. se spared because it has resisted taking up Israel’s unilateral denunciation at the UN.
The Security Council is scheduled for its quarterly open debate on the Israeli-Palestinian clash on January 18.
Form from: https://www. jewishpress. com/news/israel/temple-mount-har-habayit/israels-un-envoy-mocks-meeting-over-ben-gvirs-uneventful-temple-mount-visit/2023 /01/07/