In an unprecedented move, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led a group of Jewish worshipers in prayer atop the Temple Mount on Sunday as he marked Tisha B’Av — the first time that a government minister has overtly worshipped at the flashpoint site in violation of the status quo.
A record 3,500-plus Jewish pilgrims were said to visit the site in the course of the fast day. The Temple Mount, which was the site of the Jewish Temples and today houses the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine, has been one of the most volatile flashpoints in the Middle East. Ben Gvir’s actions immediately drew sharp condemnations from the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement in response to Ben Gvir’s visit, insisting that “Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will not change.”
Since first receiving the national security portfolio in 2022, the ultranationalist politician has continuously asserted that his policy is to allow Jewish prayer atop the Temple Mount, flouting the longtime status quo between Israel and Jordan, which administers the site through the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. According to the unwritten agreement, Jews are permitted to visit the site but are forbidden from praying there. (Read More)
