“Unnecessary provocation”, “unacceptable”… The prayer of an Israeli far-right minister on the Esplanade of the Mosques arouses international indignation

Itamar Ben Gvir filmed himself on Tuesday on the esplanade of the Mosques in the company of hundreds of worshipers.

This is not the first time he has sparked outrage. Israeli Interior Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who is no stranger to provocation, prayed on the Esplanade of the Mosques in East Jerusalem accompanied by some 3,000 Jewish worshipers on Tuesday, August 13. An act that immediately sparked the ire of the international community, with the UN, the European Union, the United States and several Muslim countries denouncing the attitude of the leader of the far-right Jewish Force party.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, meanwhile, denounced a “event” which constitutes “an exception to the status quo”. “Israel’s policy on the Temple Mount has not changed”he assured, considering that “neither the Minister of National Security nor any other minister” could not change it alone.

Under a status quo decreed after Israel’s conquest of East Jerusalem in 1967, non-Muslims can go to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which houses the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, at specified times. They cannot pray there, but this rule is increasingly being disregarded by some nationalist Jews.

Itamar Ben Gvir filmed himself on the Esplanade of the Mosques accompanied by hundreds of worshipers, on the occasion of Tisha Beav, a Jewish commemoration. In this video, he calls in particular for “beat” Hamas rather than negotiate with the Palestinian Islamist movement, against the backdrop of war in the Gaza Strip. During the few hours that the esplanade was open to non-Muslims, “about 2 250 Jews prayed, danced and raised the Israeli flag” on the site, an official of the Waqf, the Jordanian administration of Muslim religious properties in Jerusalem, told AFP. Then during the second slot allocated to non-Muslims in the afternoon, “more than 700 Jews prayed there”according to the same source.

This has outraged the international community. The spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Farhan Haq, said that “This type of behavior does not help and is an unnecessary provocation”. For their part, the United States has described it as“unacceptable” the Israeli minister’s coup. “Not only is this unacceptable, it also distracts from what we believe is a vital moment as we work to reach a ceasefire agreement.” in Gaza, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. For his part, theUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent future “acts of provocation”castigating “flagrant contempt” demonstrated by the minister.

The head of European Union diplomacy has denounced “provocations”while Paris has “sentenced” a “new unacceptable provocation”calling “the Israeli government to take all necessary measures to uphold the historical status quo at the Holy Places in Jerusalem.”

For its part, Jordan condemned “the storming” from the esplanade by the far-right minister and Israeli MPs “under the protection of the Israeli occupation police”. Amman saw it “unilateral Israeli measures and continued violations of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites”.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has denounced a “escalation” and some “provocations”evoking “illegal incursions (…) to prepare the imposition of total Israeli control and Judaization” places “in violation of international law”Several Arab capitals, Turkey and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have also strongly condemned these “incursions”.

Charged more than 50 times in his youth for incitement to violence or hate speech, Itamar Ben Gvir was also convicted in 2007 for supporting a terrorist group and incitement to racism.