Israel's far-right Ben Gvir visits flashpoint Jerusalem holy site as Palestinians slam 'provocation'

[Eugene]

Source: CNN

Israel’s far-right Ben Gvir visits flashpoint Jerusalem holy site as Palestinians slam ‘provocation’

By Abeer Salman, Irene Nasser and Elliott Gotkine, CNN
Updated 5:49 PM EST, Tue January 3, 2023

Jerusalem (CNN) — Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Tuesday visited the Jerusalem compound known as the Temple Mount by Jews and the Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary by Muslims, in a move that drew international condemnation.

Videos published on Israeli media showed Ben Gvir walking through the compound surrounded by Israeli police.

Tensions are high over the flashpoint complex, which is the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. It contains the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the site of the destroyed first and second Jewish Temples. Only Muslims are allowed to pray at the complex under a decades-old agreement; Ben Gvir believes that Jews should have the right to pray there, too.

Palestinians immediately objected to the visit.

“We strongly condemn extremist Ben Gvir’s storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and we consider it an unprecedented provocation and a serious threat,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We hold (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu responsible for its consequences on the conflict and the region.”

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/03/middleeast/israel-palestinians-jerusalem-ben-gvir-intl/index.html