Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir publicly conducted on Sunday a Jewish prayer on the Al-Aqsa compound in east Jerusalem — a highly contentious move that violates a long-held understanding at the site.
The Al-Aqsa compound is Islam’s third-holiest site, and is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the first and second Jewish temples.
Jewish religious rituals are prohibited there by a long-standing agreement between Israel and Jordan, custodian of the site.
In recent years, the understanding, known as the “status quo” has been repeatedly violated by Jewish visitors, including members of Israel’s parliament.
Ben Gvir’s Sunday visit however marked the first time a prayer was publicly recited by a government minister, according to Israeli media.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying that “Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will remain unchanged”.
The date chosen by Ben Gvir for his action was highly symbolic. In the Hebrew calendar, Sunday marked Tisha B’Av, a fasting day to commemorate the destruction of the two Jewish temples that once stood on today’s Al-Aqsa compound.
In a statement filmed at the compound, Ben Gvir said that Israel should respond to the “horror videos” of two Israeli hostages released by Palestinian militant groups this week by “extending Israeli sovereignty over the entire Gaza Strip” the same way it imposed it on the Temple Mount.
Israel occupied and annexed east Jerusalem in 1967, in a move not recognised by much of the international community.
Ben Gvir’s action, described by the Israeli left-wing newspaper Haaretz as a “provocation”, drew condemnation from the Palestinian Authority, which called it a “dangerous escalation”, as well as Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
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© Agence France-Presse
