There is no indication that Ben-Gvir also prayed during his visit to the Temple Mount. Still, his move is likely to exacerbate tensions. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, there were repeated clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians. According to Palestinian witnesses and medics, soldiers killed a Palestinian youth on Tuesday before Ben-Gvir’s visit. Initially, there was no comment from the Israeli army.
On Monday, the Israeli army said it had killed two Palestinian militants in clashes near the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The clashes began with the demolition of the homes of two Palestinians killed by the military in September.
Ben-Gvir, of far-right Ozma Jehudit, had previously been convicted of racist hate speech and supporting a Jewish terrorist organization. He is considered a political firebrand, especially where Palestinians are concerned. He is part of Benjamin Netanyahu’s new religious right-wing government, which was sworn in on Thursday in Israel.