Jerusalem: Israeli’s remote National Security Minister Itmar Ben Gwir on Wednesday strongly condemned the Hamas of Arab nations and Palestinian terrorists, with his latest visit in the Al-Aksa Mosque complex in the old city of Jerusalem.
The politicians of the firebrand were going to this site, who is sacred for the Jews and Muslims, in Gaza, after the resumption of the war against Hamas in Gaza last month, in the Israeli-Anex Eastern Jerusalem after returning to the government last month.
Ben Gwir left the cabinet in January to protest against the ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian region.
The campus is a symbol of the third most sacred site of Islam and the Palestinian national identity, but it is also the most sacred place of Judaism, which is distinguished as the site of an ancient temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
Under the status quo by Israel, which has captured East Jerusalem and its old city since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the campus during the specified hours, but they are not allowed to pray or display religious symbols.
Since the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in late 2022, Ben Gwir visited the campus on at least eight occasions, triggering international outrage each time.
The patron of the site, Jordan, condemned Wednesday’s visit as a “storm” and “an unacceptable provocation” in a statement of an Ministry of External Affairs.
Hamas called it “provocative and dangerous growth”, saying that the journey was “part of the massacre against our Palestinian people”.
He said in a statement, “We ask our Palestinians and our youth to increase their conflict in the West Bank … in defense of our land and our sanctities, Blessed is at the forefront of the Al-Aksa Mosque.”
Meanwhile, the Saudi Foreign Ministry in a statement expressed the “Strong Condemnation” of the “storm” of the campus by Ben Gwir in a statement.
Egypt also expressed “its total condemnation and condemnation” of Blessed Al-Aksa Mosque’s storm “under the protection of the Israeli police by Ben Gwir.
The site is administered by Jordan under the status quo, while its access is controlled by Israeli security forces.
‘Disappointment’
Ben Gwir spokesperson told the AFP that the minister went there because the site was opened after 13 days (for non-Muslims), “during this time the Eid al-Fitr festival and the Muslims of Ramadan were reserved for Muslims for the end of the Holy month of Ramadan.
In recent years, the increasing number of Jews UltraSists has dismissed rules including Ben Gwir, who publicly prayed in 2023 and 2024.
Impressive ultra-orthodox politician Moshe Gaffni, a member of the government majority, criticized Ben Gwir’s visit on Wednesday as “violating the holiest place for the Jewish people” on Wednesday.
“It does not demonstrate sovereignty, on the contrary, it forms an waste of the holy place and provokes unnecessary inciting the Muslim world and beyond it”, he wrote on X.
Some Jewish leaders warns against visiting the site on religious grounds.
The Israeli government has repeatedly stated that it intends to maintain the status quo on the campus, but the Palestinian fear about its future has made it a flashpire for violence.
The United Nations has condemned the first “any attempt to change the status quo within the holy sites”.
