Amid mounting tensions and on the eve of the start of Ramadan, the holy month for that creed, Ben Gvir toured the site under tight security.
The planned visit, which comes amid a spate of attacks in Israel and ahead of Ramadan, fueled fears of further unrest, The Jerusalem Post reported.
“Whoever is in control of the Temple Mount is in control of the entire land of Israel, and our enemies understand that too,” Ben-Gvir said in a video released Thursday.
The holy site is revered by both Muslims, who call it the Mosque’s Esplanade, and Jews, who know it as the Temple Mount.
For the former because it houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque, for the latter because two biblical temples were built there.
Allowing this Zionist extremist to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque is a grave violation and heralds a new uprising by our people, warned Islamic Jihad spokesman for the West Bank Tariq Ezz El-Din.
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) also threatened reprisals in view of this situation.
The MP’s visit coincided with an IDF operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank which, according to initial reports, killed at least three people.
Ben Gvir is known for his actions against Palestinians, which are criticized even in Israel.
He recently set up his office in the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, sparking a new wave of clashes.
Mossi Raz, MP for the Meretz Left Party, accused lawmakers of “trying to set fire to the area and provoke a war, as he did in May 2021”.
That day, Israeli police authorities denounced the ultra-nationalist politician for fueling violence by setting up a table and an awning in that neighborhood, fueling protests in the Palestinian territories, leading to Tel Aviv’s invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Ben Gvir is known for having a photo of Baruch Goldstein, who murdered 29 Palestinians in the Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994, in his living room for years.
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