A far-right Israeli minister has sparked outrage by saying he would construct a Jewish synagogue on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem if he might, strengthening the narrative that the Muslim holy website and Palestinian nationwide image is beneath risk.
Nationwide Safety Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has repeatedly ignored the Israeli authorities’s longstanding ban on Jews praying on the website, advised Military Radio on Monday that if it had been attainable, he would construct a synagogue on the Al-Aqsa compound, recognized to Jews because the Temple Mount.
The Al-Aqsa compound is Islam’s third holiest website and a logo of Palestinian identification. It’s also thought of by Jews to be the positioning of the First and Second Temples – the latter destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
“If I might do something I wished, I’d put an Israeli flag on the positioning,” Ben-Gvir stated within the interview.
Requested a number of occasions by a journalist if he would construct a synagogue on the website if it had been as much as him, Ben-Gvir lastly replied: “Sure.”
Beneath the decades-old status quo maintained by Israeli authorities, Jews and different non-Muslims are allowed to go to the compound in occupied East Jerusalem throughout specified hours, however they don’t seem to be permitted to wish there or show spiritual symbols.
Ben-Gvir has additionally been criticised by some Orthodox Jews, who contemplate the positioning too holy a spot for Jews to enter. In response to main rabbis, it is forbidden for any Jew to enter any a part of Al-Aqsa attributable to its sanctity.
In recent times, the restrictions on the compound have been more and more flouted by hardline spiritual nationalists like Ben-Gvir, typically prompting confrontations with Palestinians.
As soon as thought of a fringe motion, the marketing campaign to construct a “Third Temple” on Al-Aqsa is rising in Israel, and plenty of Palestinians see parallels with what has occurred in Hebron, the place the Ibrahimi Mosque, also called the Cave of the Patriarchs, was partitioned.
Since taking workplace in December 2022, Ben-Gvir, as nationwide safety minister, has visited the holy site at the very least six occasions, drawing extreme condemnations.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is run by Jordan, however entry to the positioning itself is managed by Israeli safety forces.
Ben-Gvir advised Military Radio that Jews must be allowed to wish within the compound.
“Arabs can pray wherever they need, so Jews ought to have the ability to pray wherever they need,” he stated, claiming that the “present coverage permits Jews to wish at this website”.
A number of ultra-Orthodox Jewish politicians have beforehand denounced Ben-Gvir’s makes an attempt to encourage Jewish prayer in Al-Aqsa.
One, Inside Minister Moshe Arbel, has beforehand referred to as Ben-Gvir’s feedback on the topic “blasphemy”, including that “the ban on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount is the place of all the good males of Israel for generations”.
‘Harmful’
Jordan hit again at Ben-Gvir’s newest remarks.
“Al-Aqsa and the holy websites are a pure place of worship for Muslims,” Jordanian Overseas Ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah stated in an announcement.
“Jordan will take all mandatory measures to cease the assaults on the holy websites” and “is getting ready the mandatory authorized recordsdata to take motion in worldwide courts towards the assaults on the holy websites,” Qudah stated.
A number of Israeli officers additionally condemned Ben-Gvir, whereas an announcement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s workplace stated “there is no such thing as a change” to the present coverage.
“Difficult the established order on the Temple Mount is a harmful, pointless, and irresponsible act,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stated on X.
“Ben-Gvir’s actions endanger the nationwide safety of the State of Israel.”
Israeli opposition chief Yair Lapid stated on X that Ben-Gvir’s repeated feedback present that “Netanyahu misplaced management of his authorities”.
Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned that “Al-Aqsa and the holy websites are a purple line that we are going to not permit to be touched in any respect”.
Hamas, with whom Israel is locked in a bitter battle within the Gaza Strip, stated the minister’s feedback had been “harmful” and referred to as on Arab and Islamic nations “to take duty for shielding the holy websites”.
Egypt’s Overseas Ministry referred to as on Israel to adjust to its obligations as an occupying energy and cease provocative statements geared toward escalating tensions, Egyptian Ahram On-line reported.
“These statements impede efforts to achieve a truce and a ceasefire within the Gaza Strip and pose a critical risk to the way forward for the ultimate settlement of the Palestinian challenge, which relies on the two-state resolution and the institution of an unbiased Palestinian state alongside the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the assertion stated.
Monday’s feedback got here lower than two weeks after Ben-Gvir triggered outrage – together with from influential Israeli rabbis – by visiting the compound with a whole lot of supporters, a lot of whom seemed to be praying brazenly in defiance of the established order guidelines.
