UN to meet amid uproar over Israeli minister’s holy site visit

TEL AVIV - The United Nations Security Council was scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Thursday after an ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a holy site in Jerusalem, provoking international condemnation. 

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al Sharif, inflamed growing tensions on Tuesday and was widely viewed as provocative.

Confrontations at holy sites in Jerusalem have in the past triggered wider conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The UN meeting was requested by the United Arab Emirates and China, a tweet from the UAE’s mission to the UN said.

The meeting will discuss “Israeli violations in Jerusalem” and specifically Mr Ben-Gvir’s actions, Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour said in a separate statement.

“Ben-Gvir’s storming of Al-Aqsa is a dangerous escalation and provocation against our Palestinian people,” Palestinian factions in Gaza had said in a statement earlier this week that called for an escalation in the West Bank in retaliation. 

Mr Ben-Gvir leads the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party and draws support from the far right and ultra-orthodox communities.

His backing was key to Mr Netanyahu regaining political power in Israel following elections in November, after 18 months in opposition. 

“The Temple Mount is the most important place for the Jewish people.

“And just as Muslims and Christians visit there, Jews have the right to go to the Temple Mount as well,” Mr Ben-Gvir had said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 on Tuesday. 

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday: “We stand firmly for preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem.

“Any unilateral actions that depart from that historic status quo are unacceptable,” he added.

BLOOMBERG