Gaza Genocide23 July, 20263 min read
Itamar Ben-Gvir Leads Jewish Extremists Storming Al-Haram Al-Sharif Compound Under Police Escort
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Ben-Gvir led thousands to Al-Aqsa, escorted by police, on Tisha B'Av. The visit breached the longstanding status quo restricting non-Muslim prayer at Al-Aqsa.
Ben-Gvir at al-Aqsa
Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined thousands of Jewish extremists who stormed Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, the al-Haram al-Sharif compound, on Thursday under police escort. The Guardian said the site is governed by a fragile, decades-old status quo in which non-Muslim prayer is banned, and it reported that Ben-Gvir has eroded the agreement through inflammatory visits and unilateral changes to rules for Jewish visitors. Al-Monitor reported that Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israeli Jews into Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Thursday, breaching the decades-old status quo as he marked a Jewish day of mourning that coincided with Tisha B'Av.
The Straits Times said Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on July 23, praising Jewish visitors he said had prayed at the site in breach of arrangements that allow only Muslim prayer there. In a video posted on his Telegram channel, Ben-Gvir said, "Look at what's happening here: Jews are praying and feel that they are the rightful owners here," as he described the State of Israel as the sovereign authority.
Condemnations and numbers
Palestinian officials told Al Jazeera that 4,288 Israelis had entered the compound so far, with the number expected to keep rising until sundown and perhaps reaching 5,000. Al Jazeera also reported that Israeli forces imposed tight restrictions at the mosque’s gates, barred large numbers of Palestinian worshippers and students from entering, and assaulted several worshippers. Jordan’s foreign ministry condemned the storming and called on the international community "to take a firm stance obliging Israel, as the occupying power, to halt its ongoing violations against the Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem".
In response to Ben-Gvir’s visit, Al-Monitor quoted Jordan foreign ministry spokesperson Fouad Al-Majali saying, "Jordan firmly rejects and strongly condemns the continued incursions by Israeli officials, Knesset members and extremist settlers into Al-Aqsa mosque". The Guardian reported that Peace Now called the prayers outside al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock a "dangerous provocation" by extremists seeking to ignite a religious war.
Political shift and fallout
The Jerusalem Post said Ben-Gvir ascended the Temple Mount on Thursday alongside Jewish worshipers marking Tisha B’Av, and it quoted him saying that Jews praying there felt that they were “the rightful owners” of the holy site. The Jerusalem Post also reported that MK Gilad Kariv condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit and warned that Ben-Gvir and his far-right party were "the heirs of the zealots who led to the destruction of Jerusalem." Al Jazeera said Nour Odeh described the participation of Israel’s ruling Likud Party figures as a "fundamental political shift" as Palestinian and Muslim officials argued that calls for rebuilding a temple at the site are now "endorsed by key figures in the Israeli government and the Israeli parliament".
The Guardian reported that Hamas gave the name “al-Aqsa flood” to its attack on Israel in October 2023 that killed 1,200 Israelis and triggered the Gaza war, claiming it was provoked by Israeli violations at the Jerusalem mosque. The Straits Times said Ben-Gvir’s visit drew condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian officials, and it noted that previous such visits and statements by Ben-Gvir have prompted announcements from Netanyahu saying that there is no change in Israel’s policy of keeping the status quo.