Far-right minister Ben Gvir visits the Esplanade of Mosques despite criticism from Palestinians

Israel’s new Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvirparty leader to the far right Otzma Yehudit, this Tuesday the Esplanade of the Mosquesamid warnings from Palestinian factions and criticism from Jordan and the United States, which have advocated for the “status quo” to be maintained.

The Esplanade of the Mosques is holy both for Muslims – it houses the important Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, where Muhammad ascended to heaven -; as for the Jews, who call it Temple Mount because they believe the Second Temple was built there. According to him status quo In effect since 1967 – when Israel occupied the eastern part of Jerusalem where the esplanade is located – the site has been reserved exclusively for the worship of Muslims, while Jews can only enter as visitors, as Jewish laws prohibit their worshipers from entering the area. to pray. holiest place for their religion, something reserved only for a few rabbis.

In recent years, however, some rabbis who joined the Religious Zionism movement — to which Ben Gvir belongs — have changed that recommendation and advocated praying there. Ben Gvir stressed that the Israeli government “will not succumb to threats from Hamas”, which in turn has warned that “a religious war in the region” could break out.

Itamar Ben Gvir debuts his post as Israeli Security Minister with a visit to the Esplanade of the Mosques… https://t.co/4S3TfnIQvS

— mikel ayestaran (@mikelayestaran) January 3, 2023

The visit of the Israeli minister to the Esplanade of the Mosques has been criticized by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairswho said in a statement that Ben Gvir’s “attack” “represents an unprecedented provocation and grave threat to the site of the conflict, as well as a disregard for demands to end it”.

Palestinian factions in Gaza, led by the movement Hamas who rules the strip have called on the Palestinian people in the West Bank to “intensify clashes and confront the Israeli occupation”.

“Ben Gvir’s attack on the Al Aqsa Mosque is a dangerous escalation and provocation against our Palestinian people and points in the direction of a religious war in the region,” the factions said in a joint statement.

“I say it very clearly. Ben Gvir’s visit will blow up the situation and open the door to another intifada. We must be prepared and we call on everyone to go to Al Aqsa and prevent him from entering,” he said yesterday. the spokesman for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Daoud Shihab.

The visit to the Esplanade of the Mosques in September 2000 from the then Likud leader, Ariel Sharonwas the trigger for the Second Intifada, and the mass entry of Jews and the police’s charges against Palestinians in the compound was one of the causes that fueled the violence in May 2021, leading to a serious military escalation with Gaza and clashes between Arabs and Jews in various mixed cities of Israel.

Criticism from the US and Jordan

For his part, the ambassador of USA in Israel, Tom Nides was equally critical, emphasizing that Washington “wants to preserve the ‘status quo’ and actions that avoid it are unacceptable.”

Added to the criticism Jordan, who acts as the administrator of the place. Jordan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Ben Gvir’s visit “represents an unacceptable violation” of the “historical and legal situation in Jerusalem and its holy sites.” arise from the actions of the leader of Otzma Yehudit.

In this way, he pointed out that the visit “is a provocative step” that “represents a dangerous trend that the international community must stop immediately”. Along these lines, he recalled that Jordan has “legal authority” and “exclusive jurisdiction” to “manage affairs” on the Esplanade of the Mosques.