Far-right Israeli minister visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound: Spokesperson
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Mr Ben Gvir was visiting the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, after returning to the Israeli government in March.
PHOTO: REUTERS
JERUSALEM - Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on April 2, his spokesperson said, prompting strong condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian militants Hamas.
The firebrand politician was visiting the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, in occupied east Jerusalem after returning to the Israeli government in March, following the resumption of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Mr Ben Gvir had quit the Cabinet in January in protest against the ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory
Since the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the end of 2022, Mr Ben Gvir has made several trips to the Al-Aqsa compound, each time triggering international outcry.
In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned the April 2 visit as a “storming” and “an unacceptable provocation”.
Hamas called it a “provocative and dangerous escalation”, saying the visit was “part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people”.
“We call on our Palestinian people and our youth in the West Bank to escalate their confrontation... in defence of our land and our sanctities, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Saudi foreign ministry expressed in a statement its “strongest condemnation” of the “storming” of the compound by Mr Ben Gvir.
Egypt also expressed “its total condemnation and denunciation” of Mr Ben Gvir’s “storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli police”.
The site is Islam’s third-holiest and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.
Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the second temple destroyed by the Romans in AD70.
Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.
Mr Ben Gvir’s spokesperson told AFP that the minister “went there because the site was opened (for non-Muslims) after 13 days”, during which access was reserved for Muslims for the festival of Eid al-Fitr and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In recent years, growing numbers of Jewish ultranationalists have defied the rules, including Mr Ben Gvir, who publicly prayed there in 2023 and 2024.
The Israeli government has said repeatedly that it intends to uphold the status quo at the compound, but Palestinian fears about its future have made it a flashpoint for violence. AFP
