Muslim world condemns far-right politician Ben-Gvir’s trip to holy mosque compound

This photo released on Jan 3, 2023, by Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's minister of national security, on his official Twitter account shows Itamar Ben-Gvir (left)  strolling at the periphery of the compound that houses the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. (PHOTO / TWITTER@ITAMARBENGVIR)

JERUSALEM/CAIRO — A controversial visit by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the flashpoint holy site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem on Jan 3 has triggered a furious backlash in the Muslim world.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the most sacred site, is regarded by Muslims as their third holiest site, only after the great mosques in Mecca and Medina of Saudi Arabia.

Ben-Gvir’s visit came days after he took office as national security minister, with powers over the police, giving his decision to enter the highly sensitive site considerable weight. The holy site has been administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, a Jordanian body, since 1948.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, slammed Ben-Gvir’s visit to Al-Aqsa, the first by an Israeli minister in nearly five years, as “a challenge to the Palestinian people, the Arab nation, and the international community”.

“The Israeli authorities’ attempts to change the existing historical and legal reality in Al-Aqsa by perpetuating its temporal division by dividing it spatially are rejected and doomed to failure,” he said, warning that Jerusalem and its holy sites are “a red line that cannot be crossed”.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye told the weekly cabinet of the Palestinian Authority that Ben-Gvir’s storming of the compound constitutes a “serious challenge to the feelings of the Palestinian people”.

Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, in a statement condemned the far-right Israeli minister’s visit as “a continuation of the Zionists’ occupation aggression”, vowing that the Palestinian people “will continue defending their holy places and Al-Aqsa Mosque”.

Jordan summoned the Israeli ambassador in Amman and delivered a strongly worded protest demanding Israel immediately stop all such violations.

“Storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by an Israeli minister and violating the mosque’s sacredness is a condemned and provocative action and represents a stark violation of international law, as well as of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites,” Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan Majali said in a statement.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed its regret over Ben-Gvir’s actions, stressing its total rejection of “any unilateral measures that violate the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem”.

In Lebanon, the foreign ministry condemned the visit as a “serious violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque”, which “indicates the direction of the extremist policies the Israeli government has adopted toward the Palestinian people and their rights and sanctities”.

Condemning the “provocative action” by Ben-Gvir, the Saudi foreign ministry said the Israeli practices “undermine the international peace efforts and international principles and norms regarding respecting religious sanctities”.

The foreign ministry of the United Arab Emirates, in a statement, urged Israel to “halt serious and provocative violations” at the holy site.

Qatar and Oman also both denounced the visit as a violation of international laws and all Muslims.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry described Ben-Gvir’s visit as a “sacrilege” of the holy site and a violation of international law.

Turkiye, which restored full diplomatic ties with Israel in 2022 after years of tensions, also denounced the “provocative visit”, the country’s foreign ministry said.

Responding to the outcry, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement issued by his office, affirmed his commitment to “strictly maintaining the status quo” at the Al-Aqsa compound.

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