Jerusalem – National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would build a synagogue at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, “based on equal rights between Jews and Muslims,” while Netanyahu’s office was quick to clarify that “there is no change to the status quo.”
Ben-Gvir’s comments came after a video clip went viral yesterday morning of a group of Jewish extremists praying next to police officers who did nothing to stop them from doing so, even though such an action is not permitted under local regulations.
The worshippers prostrated on the ground and also sang alongside a security guard who sat next to them with her back to them.
For his part, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel called on the Prime Minister to put Ben-Gvir in his place, warning that “Ben-Gvir’s irresponsible words put at stake Israel’s strategic alliances with Islamic countries that form an alliance in the war against the Iranian axis of evil.”
The Israeli Interior Minister considered that “Ben Gvir’s lack of wisdom could lead to bloodshed.”
Ben Gvir’s supporters attacked the Israeli interior minister, calling him a “leftist sycophant.”
“Any change in the status quo on the Temple Mount, the Jewish name for the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with an emphasis on wartime, must be done professionally in the cabinet, with consideration of all the implications and consequences,” Education Minister Yoav Kisch said.
The Ynet website noted that there appears to be a change in the police’s behavior on the Temple Mount with regard to Jewish prayer there. In various instances, dozens of Jews were recorded kneeling in the eastern area in front of the police, who did nothing to prevent this, unlike what happened in the past.
This phenomenon could indicate a new policy being implemented, or a disregard for agreed-upon procedures, according to the Hebrew website.
Ben-Gvir has long called for freedom of worship for Jews at Al-Aqsa. In early August, he headed a group of Jewish extremists to Al-Aqsa Mosque to celebrate the anniversary of the “destruction of the Temple,” a Jewish religious occasion, and announced from there that “the policy is to allow prayer.”
Shortly after, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disavowed this statement, declaring that “there is no special policy for any minister on the (Temple Mount) Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that Israel’s policy regarding the Temple Mount has not changed.”
Israeli security officials had previously warned, according to Ynet, that such a policy could ignite a “religious war” in the Middle East, or lead to a major escalation in the security situation in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Source: Ynet + Israel Army Radio + RT
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2024-08-26 21:54:15
