RAMALLAH: Palestine on Tuesday condemned a visit by Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem as “unprecedented provocation”.
“Ben-Gvir’s intrusion represents unprecedented provocation, a serious threat to the arena of conflict and a contempt to calls to stop” the visit, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry termed the far-right minister’s tour as “a “legitimization of further incursions to Al-Aqsa Mosque by hardline settlers.”
The ministry held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible “for this brazen assault on Al-Aqsa”.
Early on Tuesday, Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, a day after announcing he postponed the visit amid warnings of unrest.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area as the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Ben-Gvir holds far-right views on the Palestinians and has called for their displacement. He has repeatedly joined Israeli settlers in storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem.
