Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has once more visited Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, in an attempt to disrupt ceasefire talks.
He also recorded his visit and said he went to pray. Ben-Gvir is an ultranationalist and fighter for the settler movement.
The Al-Aqsa mosque compound, also known as the Temple Mount, is a holy site for both Muslims and Jews. In the shadow of the Dome of the Rock, Ben-Gvir spoke with his personal bodyguards visible behind him and an armed Israeli border policeman patrolling nearby.
He said he came to the compound to pray for the return of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip but without any hasty deals and without surrender.
He added that he prayed and worked hard for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject international pressure to sign a ceasefire agreement and instead continue military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 38,000 people in the strip since an attack by Hamas militants on October 7 last year.
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His visit immediately drew condemnation from Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, the powerful body that administers Islam’s holiest site, which called it a provocative move and a violation by the extremist Israeli government.
Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel of the Jewish religious party Shas, criticized Ben-Gvir for entering the area.
“One day, the era of provocations by Ben-Gvir will pass,” Arbel said.
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U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said without naming Ben-Gvir that the White House was concerned regarding rhetoric and actions that were counterproductive to peace and security in the West Bank.
“The president has been quite vocal regarding his concerns regarding, for example, settler violence and we have also expressed our concerns regarding various activities and rhetoric by a number of Israeli leaders. And those concerns remain valid, and what we will continue to urge our Israeli colleagues to do is to do things that inflame emotions or might lead to or encourage violent activity in any way,” he said.
Biden is expected to speak with Netanyahu next week despite his recent Covid-19 diagnosis, as part of the Israeli leader’s controversial visit to the US.
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“Netanyahu is also expected to address a joint session of Congress,” Kirby said.
He said Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been suggested as a possible successor to Biden if he drops out of the race, is also expected to meet with Netanyahu.
Ben-Gvir last visited the site in May to express his objection to countries such as Spain, Norway and Ireland recognizing a Palestinian state.
His latest visit is seen as a more provocative move, ahead of Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington and amid negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The Al-Aqsa mosque compound is a highly sensitive site, as attempts by a group of extremist Jewish settlers to pray there are seen as a violation by Muslim worshippers and monitors, symbolizing an attempt to bring the mosque compound and the divided holy city of Jerusalem under full Israeli control.
Visits by Israeli ministers to the site or raids by Israeli security forces have proven to be triggers for protests and violence in the past, most notably Ariel Sharon’s visit in 2000 which sparked an uprising known as the second intifada.
Netanyahu summed up the status quo at Al-Aqsa in 2015, saying, “Muslims pray on the Temple Mount, non-Muslims visit.”
Daniel Seidemann, an Israeli lawyer and expert on Jerusalem politics, said the rise of Israel’s extremist settler movement has changed the fragile balance at the holy site.
“It’s clear in recent years that the status quo has eroded significantly. First, there are the daily Jewish prayers that begin with people whispering and mumbling,” he said.
“Now there are groups that are guarded by the police, which is a major source of tension even though these parties are not prominent. For the past 20 years, events and discourses in Jerusalem have been run by religious firebrands. This conflict has not become a religious war, but the people who are stirring up events are fighting a religious war,” he explained.
He said Ben-Gvir’s visit was meant as a symbol of nationalist victory to show off his power and signal Israel’s victory in Gaza and control of important sites long claimed by the Palestinians.
Several hardline ministers in Netanyahu’s government, including Ben-Gvir, have tried to dissuade the prime minister from agreeing to a ceasefire deal, warning that they would leave the ruling coalition. (Guardian/Z-1)
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