Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir defied warnings from native and Palestinian politicians as he visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
A go to to the flashpoint website was condemned by Palestinians and a few Israeli politicians as provocative, amid warnings it might result in violence.
The Ynet news web site carried footage of Ben-Gvir touring the location underneath heavy safety. The compound is Islam’s third holiest website after Mecca and Medina and Judaism’s most sacred, the place Jews imagine two historic temples are positioned.
Israel’s opposition chief and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid had warned that such a go to by Ben-Gvir would spark violence.
“Itamar Ben-Gvir must not go up to Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque complex),” Lapid had stated on Twitter Monday, warning that the transfer would result in “a deliberate provocation that will put lives in danger and cost lives.”
Only Muslim worship is allowed on the website, and there was no indication that Ben-Gvir had prayed throughout his go to.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry stated it “strongly condemns the storming of Al-Aqsa mosque by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir and views it as unprecedented provocation and a dangerous escalation of the conflict.”
Earlier Monday, the Palestinian Authority had issued a warning in opposition to Israel over reviews of Ben-Gvir’s probably go to.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority, had stated repeated Israeli threats to the established order at Al-Aqsa Mosque “will have serious consequences for everyone.”
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the place Al-Aqsa is positioned, throughout the 1967 Arab-Israeli warfare. It annexed all the metropolis in 1980, in a transfer by no means acknowledged by the worldwide neighborhood.
Abu Rudeineh additionally warned that if the U.S. fails to stress Israeli leaders to stop their provocations, the state of affairs could “get out of control.”
Ben-Gvir was sworn in final week as a part of a brand new authorities led by Benjamin Netanyahu that features far-right and non secular events.
