Less than a week after taking office, the new government of Israel formed by Benjamin Netanyahu is already beginning to generate divisions in the country, especially with the Palestinian inhabitants. Now the latest fight erupted after Itamar Ben-Gvir, the security minister, visited a mosque compound, something the nation’s Muslim citizens saw as a provocation.
It is not the first time that Ben-Gvir has attended this site, since after being elected as a parliamentarian in 2021 he went several times. His new role as minister of the Middle Eastern nation makes his presence there carry another weight. An earlier case worth mentioning is when Ariel Sharon, a controversial opposition leader from Israelwent to the temple and thus began the first “Intifada” or Palestinian agitation.
“Our government is not going to give in to threats from Hamas,” the security minister said when speaking to people in response to allegations that his visit crossed “a red line.” “The temple mount is the most important place for the people of Israel And although we maintain freedom of movement between Muslims and Christians, Jews can access here and those who make threats will be treated with an iron fist,” he said.
The place the politician spoke of mediterranean country It is the “Temple Mount”, also known as “the esplanade of the mosques”. Although it has religious interest for both Islam, Judaism and Catholicism, following an agreement, people who practice the oldest of the Abrahamic religions are not allowed to pray there to maintain the status quo. But it is possible to access the area as visitors.
The plateau of the mosques
This site is considered the holiest for the Jewish religion and is where the second temple was located until the Romans destroyed it. For its part, the Al Aqsa Mosque is the third most important location in Islam, surpassed only by the temples in Mecca and Medina.
The complaint made by Hamas is that the Netanyahu government wants to transform this area into a place where Muslim prayers are prohibited, to finally build the third temple.
