Cabinet ministers warn Ben Gvir endangering Israel with ‘reckless’ Temple Mount moves

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked an uproar on Monday morning after he again declared that Jewish worshipers have the same rights as Muslim worshipers on the Temple Mount, and agreed that he would establish a synagogue atop the flashpoint site if he could.

The ultranationalist minister, who has made numerous controversial visits to the site since he entered the government, told Army Radio on Monday that Israeli law does not discriminate between the religious rights of Jews and Muslims at the Temple Mount, which is considered the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest in Islam.

“The policies on the Temple Mount allow prayer, period,” Ben Gvir said. “You are allowed to pray; it’s illegal to prevent you from praying.”

“Why should a Jew be afraid to pray?” he asked rhetorically. “Because Hamas will be angry?”

“The premier knows that when I joined the government, I said in the simplest way that there would be no discrimination at the Temple Mount, just like Muslims can pray at the Western Wall,” Ben Gvir added. READ MORE