Temple Mount visit – Israel fears new escalation with Palestinians

Israel may soon face another escalation of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Despite warnings, Israel’s far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for the first time since taking office on Tuesday. He was accompanied by a large crowd of security forces.

Agreement criticized as “racist”.
The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. But it is also sacred to Jews because there were two Jewish temples in ancient times. The Temple Mount is under Muslim rule, while Israel is responsible for its security. Under an agreement with Muslim authorities, Jews can visit the facility, but not pray there. However, there are always violations. Ben-Gvir had criticized this agreement as “racist”. The Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to expand its control over the holy site. The second Palestinian uprising, Intifada, began in 2000 after a demonstrative visit to the Temple Mount by then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon.

The government of Israel has been heavily criticized by Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition with two far-right parties. Ben-Gvir is the new star of the far right in Israel and, as Security Minister, not only has direct powers of instruction to the Israeli police, but is also responsible for the border police, which operate in the West Bank, for example. That has not been the case so far. Ben-Gvir stands for tough action against the Palestinians, so he demanded permission to use stone-throwers during the election campaign. Experts expect the conflict to escalate.