Israeli hardliner Ben-Gvir draws anger with Jerusalem prayer call

Israeli hardliner Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Tuesday Jews should be permitted to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, launching a fresh challenge to rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East, News.az reports citing Reuters .

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly denied there would be any change to rules that prohibit Jews from praying at the site, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews, and rebuked Ben-Gvir, the national security minister.

"There is no private policy of any minister on the Temple Mount - neither the Minister of National Security nor any other minister," Netanyahu's office said in a statement, which came a day after the premier issued a separate rebuke to Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over differences in policy.
The remarks, during a visit to the complex to mark the Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the ancient temples, come at an especially sensitive time, with the war in Gaza at risk of escalating into a wider conflict, potentially drawing in Iran and its regional proxies.
The Al-Aqsa compound, revered by Jews as a vestige of their two ancient temples, is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and under rules dating back decades, Jews are allowed to visit, but may not pray there.

"Our policy is to allow prayer," Ben-Gvir said as he passed a line of Jewish visitors who prostrated themselves on the ground, while others sang and clapped their hands in celebration. The Waqf, the foundation that administers the site, said some 2,250 Jews entered the site on Tuesday.

The spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced Ben-Gvir's visit as a "provocation" and called on the United States to intervene "if it wants to prevent the region from exploding in an uncontrollable manner".

Ben-Gvir, head of one of the religious-nationalist parties in Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, has clashed repeatedly with other ministers over his calls to allow prayer at the compound, which has been the trigger for repeated conflicts with the Palestinians over the years.

Moshe Gafni, head of United Torah Judaism, one of the religious parties in the government, criticized Ben-Gvir's visit to the compound, which many Orthodox Jews believe is too sacred a place for Jews to enter.

"The damage it causes to the Jewish people is unbearable, and it also causes unfounded hatred on the day of the destruction of the Temple," he said in a statement.

News.Az