Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar BenGvir appeared to have postponed his visit to what Jews regard as the Temple Mount after talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: but he surprisingly did so on January 3, reaffirming his will to Changing status quo at holy sites and unleashing Jordan’s wrath
He walks on the white stones surrounded by the police officers he is now the boss of. From his first days as Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir wanted to keep his promises and stoke the fears of the opposition.
The visit to the Esplanade of Mosques, the Temple Mount of the Jews, seemed postponed after a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, instead this morning the ultra-nationalist leader passed through the gates leading to Islam’s third holiest site and the rock dedicated to Islam Judaism is the meeting point between heaven and earth, the rock to which Abraham bound Isaac, the base of the First and Second Temples destroyed by the Romans in 70.
The minister asked to be alone for a few minutes, a moment of remembrance, to weld his main goal with a gesture: to change the status quo, which has been trying to balance since 1967, since the Israeli conquest of these areas of Jordan among the most controversial boulders among the controversial boulders of the old town.
General Moshe Dayan had preferred at the time to leave the administration of the Esplanade al Waqf, the Islamic organization that administers the holy sites under the supervision of the Ashemite kingdom and defines the rules that still apply: Jews may visit the area but not pray there, Israel is responsible for the security of the facility.
The first to react are the Jordanian guards, who accuse Ben Gvir of attacking the Esplanade and violating its sanctity.
Hamas fundamentalists in Gaza had threatened that the visit would lead to an explosion, that Islamic Jihad had announced it had its fingers on the trigger, and that the Israeli security forces had raised the alert level.
The police chief – who now reports to Ben Gvir – had said the provocations by the then far-right MP in Jerusalem had contributed to the escalation towards the 11-day war with Hamas in May 2021.
Yair Lapid, who led the government until Netanyahu took office, comments: “This is what happens when a weak prime minister is forced to hand over the most explosive city in the Middle East to the most explosive man in the Middle East.
American allies immediately try to stop Ben Gvir’s projects, warning that any change in the status quo is unacceptable.
The reaction of the new allies is even harsher: the United Arab Emirates speak of an attack and, according to Israeli news, Netanyahu – who considers the agreements signed by Abraham with the Gulf state as his legacy of history – had to postpone the already announced visit to Abu Dhabi under the Pretext of logistical problems.
January 3, 2023 (change January 3, 2023 | 3:25 p.m.)
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