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 may, strengthening the narrative that the Muslim holy web site and Palestinian nationwide image is below menace.
Nationwide Safety Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has repeatedly ignored the Israeli authorities’s longstanding ban on Jews praying on the web site, instructed Military Radio on Monday that if it have been doable, 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 web site and an emblem of Palestinian id. It’s also thought of by Jews to be the location of the First and Second Temples – the latter destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
“If I may do something I wished, I might put an Israeli flag on the location,” Ben-Gvir mentioned within the interview.
Requested a number of instances by a journalist if he would construct a synagogue on the web site if it have been as much as him, Ben-Gvir lastly replied: “Sure.”
Underneath 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 location too holy a spot for Jews to enter. Based on main rabbis, it is forbidden for any Jew to enter any a part of Al-Aqsa on account of its sanctity.
In recent times, the restrictions on the compound have been more and more flouted by hardline spiritual nationalists like Ben-Gvir, generally 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 a minimum of six instances, drawing extreme condemnations.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is run by Jordan, however entry to the location itself is managed by Israeli safety forces.
Ben-Gvir instructed Military Radio that Jews ought to be allowed to wish within the compound.
“Arabs can pray wherever they need, so Jews ought to be capable of pray wherever they need,” he mentioned, claiming that the “present coverage permits Jews to wish at this web site”.
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 known 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 mentioned in a press release.
“Jordan will take all needed measures to cease the assaults on the holy websites” and “is making ready the required authorized recordsdata to take motion in worldwide courts in opposition to the assaults on the holy websites,” Qudah mentioned.
A number of Israeli officers additionally condemned Ben-Gvir, whereas a press release from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s workplace mentioned “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 mentioned on X.
“Ben-Gvir’s actions endanger the nationwide safety of the State of Israel.”
Israeli opposition chief Yair Lapid mentioned 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 conflict within the Gaza Strip, mentioned the minister’s feedback have been “harmful” and known as on Arab and Islamic nations “to take duty for safeguarding the holy websites”.
Egypt’s Overseas Ministry known as on Israel to adjust to its obligations as an occupying energy and cease provocative statements aimed toward escalating tensions, Egyptian Ahram On-line reported.
“These statements hinder efforts to succeed in a truce and a ceasefire within the Gaza Strip and pose a critical menace to the way forward for the ultimate settlement of the Palestinian challenge, which relies on the two-state resolution and the institution of an impartial Palestinian state alongside the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the assertion mentioned.
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 lots of of supporters, lots of whom gave the impression to be praying overtly in defiance of the established order guidelines.