Access to the Temple Mount, or Haram al-Sharif in Arabic, will be restricted to Israeli Muslims during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which begins on March 10. Netanyahu supports the corresponding position of his right-wing extremist Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Israeli media reported this following a security cabinet meeting that took place on Sunday.
Netanyahu is said to have ordered security officials to present to the Cabinet options for age criteria and quotas for Israeli Muslims who wish to pray at the holy site during Ramadan. The prime minister's office said Netanyahu “made a balanced decision that allows religious freedom with the necessary security limits established by professional officials.” The office did not provide details about the decision or possible restrictions.
debate
Middle East: What can peace look like?
Conflict in the Middle East highly concentrated
The dispute over the right to the Temple Mount and access to it – especially during Ramadan – reflects the entire conflict in the Middle East in a highly concentrated dose, reinforced by the religious dimension. This has repeatedly led to violent clashes for years. Arab members of the Knesset warned on Sunday night that a new intifada would break out.
IMAGO/ZUMA Wire/Saeed Qaq Friday prayer on the Temple Mount in Ramadan 2023
Israeli Arabs – more than a fifth of the total population – have so far behaved in an “exemplary” calm and balanced manner, as the Israeli media and most politicians have agreed for months. Hamas' calculation to use the attack to encourage not only Hezbollah but also Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Israel itself to open new fronts has so far failed.
Focus on the fight for political survival
It is clear that Netanyahu is well aware of the explosive nature of the restrictions on access to the Temple Mount. But he has been fighting for his political survival since the Hamas attack on October 7th – which was also a complete failure of the Israeli state to protect its citizens. Many critics accuse the head of government of prolonging the war for this reason. Because the worst thing from his point of view – because it would be a certain end to his career – would be a quick new election.
By Israeli standards, Netanyahu governs with a clear majority of 64 of the 120 mandates. But the two right-wing nationalist and right-wing extremist parties, Ben-Gvir's Ozma Jehudit (Jewish Force) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotritsch's Ha-Zionut ha-Datit (Religious Zionism), have enough mandates to oust Netanyahu . Given the growing shift to the right in Israeli society since October 7, polls show that Ben-Gvir would benefit greatly from new elections and that Likud would collapse under Netanyahu.
AP/Ohad Zwigenberg Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir in the Knesset
Netanyahu needs Ben-Gvir
Security Minister Ben-Gvir, who has been convicted several times in the past for incitement, has repeatedly called for tough action against Palestinians in the West Bank occupied since October 7 and has frequently expressed his distrust of Palestinian Israelis. He also calls for a tough and uncompromising fight on all fronts, while also dividing society by easing citizens' access to weapons and ensuring a US embargo on the delivery of firearms for private use to Israel.
Permanent affront to liberals
Even in the current war situation, Netanyahu is fulfilling the demands of his right-wing, nationalist and religious coalition partners, which often represent a direct affront to the liberal population: for example, a conscription law that exempts the Orthodox from military service and a budget that will invest hundreds of millions in settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
This is provocative because the secular liberal and religious liberal population largely bears the economic burden and also provides the majority of the soldiers, who often pay with their lives. However, the field of Netanyahu's opponents is largely made up of them.
Lose control
It's a joke: Netanyahu now depends on the good will of Smotrich and, above all, Ben-Gvir, after having made them “great”: both were only marginal phenomena in Israeli domestic politics for years, but Netanyahu systematically legitimized them and over the years because she needed him as majority attorney. The rightward shift in Israel over several years, the lack of convincing alternatives and the ongoing war have so far prevented a mass protest that would force Netanyahu's resignation, or a successful vote of no confidence in the Knesset and a new election. .
AP/Mahmoud Illean People in Ramadan 2023 at the border crossing in Bethlehem on the way to Friday prayers in Jerusalem
According to Haaretz, at the security cabinet meeting it emerged that restrictions on Israeli citizens cannot be generalized – for example, only from a certain age – but can only be imposed on an ad personam basis; for example, if they engage in hate speech on social media. Moderate opposition politician Benni Ganz, who joined the war cabinet after October 7, emphasized that “pure security measures” were necessary. But just the news that there will be restrictions could be enough to send the situation out of control. Ben-Gvir celebrated the meeting as a success and stated on Twitter that he had won his demands.
Hamas itself calls the attack on Israel on October 7 “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”. The terrorist organization has tried for years to portray itself as the defender of the Temple Mount for Muslims. That hasn't happened yet. Netanyahu's real or perceived concession to Ben-Gvir could help Hamas assume this role.