Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu initially did not comment on his minister’s visit to the Temple Mount. Ben-Gvir had completed the visit announced the day before – but did not specify a time – immediately ahead of a government meeting. Hours later, Netanyahu’s office told Israeli media that the prime minister was committed to the “status quo”.
This is the name of the regulation that has been in effect since Israel conquered East Jerusalem in 1967. The Temple Mount is under Muslim administration, but Israeli police monitor security. To avoid provocation, Jews – like other non-Muslim visitors – are allowed to visit the Temple Mount at certain times, but not to pray there. However, nationalist Israelis deliberately break the ban on repeated prayers.
Dangerous escalation in Jerusalem dispute
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, triggers a dangerous escalation of the security situation in the Middle East with a visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
extremely loaded place
Judaism reveres the Temple Mount as its holiest site. For Muslims, the hill with the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site after Mecca and Medina. At the foot of one side of the Temple Mount is the Wailing Wall, also known as the “Wailing Wall”. It is a retaining wall of the Herodian Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
Visits by Israeli politicians to the Temple Mount, which in the eyes of the Palestinian population are a provocation, have a long tradition and have become more frequent in recent years. Nationalist politicians, in particular, use this to signal to their clientele what they stand for. One of the proponents of this approach was the non-religious former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He bought a house in the middle of the Arab part of the old city and triggered the Second Intifada with his visit to the Temple Mount in 2000. The Palestinian uprising lasted about five years.
In May 2021, an outbreak of violence in East Jerusalem, especially on the Temple Mount, marked the beginning of an 11-day war between Hamas and Israel.
Hamas: “Prelude to the Escalation”
Despite warnings from the Palestinian side, Ben-Gvir entered the Temple Mount. Israel’s new far-right government “will not yield to a vile and murderous organization,” Ben-Gvir said on Tuesday after his controversial visit. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Ramallah called the visit an “unprecedented provocation”. The radical Islamist organization Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has previously described Ben-Gvir’s planned visit as “the prelude to an escalation in the region”.
The head of the right-wing extremist Jewish Force party has already visited the Temple Mount, sacred to Muslims and Jews, several times as a non-governmental lawmaker and has also announced a visit as a minister.
AP/Maya Alleruzzo The Dome of the Rock – the place from which, according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad ascended to heaven
Internationally under pressure
The already tense situation in the Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem remains calm. But Ben-Gvir’s visit has put the Israeli government under international pressure just days after taking office: Jordan – which is in charge of the Muslim administration of the Temple Mount – has summoned the Israeli ambassador to the Foreign Ministry.
The visit caused irritation to the US ally. The United States is firmly committed to maintaining the status quo regarding holy sites in Jerusalem, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday. “Any unilateral move that threatens the status quo is unacceptable,” said Jean-Pierre. The US expects Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to make good on his campaign promises to maintain the status quo, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday.
Netanyahu recently tried to allay international concerns about coalition with right-wing extremists and stressed that ultimately he decides everything. However, Netanyahu is largely at the mercy of his coalition partners because he has no alternatives. No other party is willing to work with him, as he faces a corruption scandal alongside his official duties. Right-wing extremists Ben-Gvir and Besalel Smotritsch already carried a lot of weight in coalition talks.
Tim Cupal (ORF) on Temple Mount visit
ORF Correspondent Tim Cupal on Israel’s Minister of National Security’s visit to the Temple Mount and the beginning of Israel’s new government.
Netanyahu’s ambitions torpedoed
And Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount jeopardizes one of Netanyahu’s main foreign policy goals, which he hopes will go down in the history books from the start: new de facto peace deals along the lines of the “Abraham Accords”. ” with Bahrain and the United Arabs. Emirates (UAE) – and at least one rapprochement with mighty Saudi Arabia.
But criticism of Ben-Gvir’s action came from all Arab countries, mainly Saudi Arabia. And Netanyahu is obliged to at least postpone his first trip abroad: this should take him – symbolically – in a few days to the United Arab Emirates, from where he also hopes to find mediation services with other states of the Arab Gulf. Abu Dhabi withdrew the appointment following Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount. Turkey condemned the visit as a “provocation” and urged Israel to act responsibly. Turkey and Israel recently tried to reach out after years of disagreement.
Netanyahu’s predecessor, current opposition leader Jair Lapid, tweeted: “This is what happens when a weak prime minister is forced to hand over responsibility to the most irresponsible person in the Middle East in the most explosive place in the Middle East.”
One of the most radical
Ben-Gvir, 46, is one of the most radical and controversial members of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s new right-wing government, which took office in late December. Ben-Gvir was repeatedly accused of deliberately stoking tensions with the Palestinians and was convicted of supporting a Jewish terrorist organization.
Ben-Gvir advocates an Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, where some 2.9 million Palestinians and 475,000 Israelis currently live in illegal settlements under international law. In addition, Ben-Gvir spoke out in favor of relocating part of Israel’s Arab population to neighboring countries – and justified this with his “disloyalty”.