(Jerusalem) Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right settler accustomed to provocations, prayed Tuesday with some 3,000 Jewish worshipers on the Esplanade of the Mosques in East Jerusalem, immediately triggering the ire of the international community.
“Unnecessary” or “unacceptable provocation”, the UN, the European Union, the United States and several Muslim countries have denounced the attitude of the leader of the far-right Jewish Force party.
Located in the area of the Holy City occupied and annexed by Israel, the Esplanade of the Mosques, the third holiest site in Islam, is built on the ruins of the second Jewish temple, destroyed in the year 70 by the Romans. For Jews, it is the Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism.
Israeli Minister of National Security, Mr. Ben Gvir, filmed himself there on Tuesday on the occasion of Tisha Beav, the Jewish commemoration of the destruction of the two Temples, calling in particular to “beat” Hamas rather than negotiate with the Palestinian Islamist movement, against the backdrop of war in the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday morning, during the few hours that the esplanade was open to non-Muslims, “around 2,250 Jews prayed, danced and raised the Israeli flag” on the site, an official from the Waqf, the Jordanian administration of Muslim religious properties in Jerusalem, told AFP.
During the second slot allocated to non-Muslims in the afternoon, “more than 700 Jews prayed there,” according to the same source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Unhelpful behavior”
Under a status quo decreed after Israel’s conquest of East Jerusalem in 1967, non-Muslims can go to the Esplanade of the Mosques, which houses the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque, at specified times, without praying there, a rule increasingly disregarded by some nationalist Jews.
Although the site is administered by Jordan, access to it is controlled by Israeli security forces.
In a video he posted online, Ben Gvir praised “great progress in governance, sovereignty and the number of Jews who pray,” referring to the large number of worshipers who were able to conduct rituals on the esplanade without being bothered by Israeli security forces.
The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, said he was “against any attempt to change the status quo related to the holy sites.”
“This type of behaviour is not helpful and is an unnecessary provocation,” he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denounced the “event” as “an exception to the status quo.”
“Israel’s policy on the Temple Mount has not changed,” he said, adding that “neither the Minister of National Security nor any other minister” could change it alone.
Mr. Ben Gvir was charged more than 50 times in his youth for inciting violence or hate speech, and convicted in 2007 of supporting a terrorist group and inciting racism.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office has made it clear that Minister (Itamar) Ben Gvir’s actions were not consistent with Israeli policy. We expect the government of Israel to prevent similar incidents in the future,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, criticizing the minister’s “blatant disregard.”
Earlier, a US State Department spokesman, Vedant Patel, called the event “unacceptable” and came at “a vital time as we work to reach a ceasefire agreement” in Gaza.
The head of European Union diplomacy denounced “provocations”, a term also used by French diplomacy, which described the visit of the far-right minister as “unacceptable”.
Jordan condemned the “storming” of the esplanade by Mr Ben Gvir and Israeli MPs “under the protection of the Israeli occupation police”.
“Incursions”
Amman saw this as “continued violations of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy places”, while Paris condemned a “new unacceptable provocation”.
The head of the Waqf told AFP that “the Israeli police had only let a few Muslim worshipers in, imposing restrictions on entry to al-Aqsa” on Tuesday.
Mr. Ben Gvir “oversees the Judaization” of the highly sensitive holy site “and helps change the situation at Al-Aqsa […] instead of respecting international treaties on the status quo with Jordan,” he accused.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced an “escalation” and “provocations”, referring to “illegal incursions” […] to prepare the imposition of total Israeli control and “Judaization” of the places “in violation of international law.”
Several Arab capitals, Turkey and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have also strongly condemned these “incursions.”
On the esplanade, Mr. Ben Gvir also spoke about the war in Gaza, affirming that it was necessary “to win this war, not to go to discussions in Doha or Cairo”, the regional negotiators who, with the United States, are pushing for a truce.