Figure of the Israeli far right and new Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir made this Tuesday, January 3 a brief visit to the esplanade of the Mosques in East Jerusalem, a holy place at the heart of Israeli-Palestinian tensions, arousing a wave of condemnations.
“This is what happens when a weak prime minister is forced to hand over responsibility to the most irresponsible person in the Middle East in the most explosive place in the Middle East”commented on Twitter the leader of the opposition, Yaïr Lapid.
A member of the most right-wing government in the history of Israel, Itamar Ben Gvir was accompanied during his visit by members of the Israeli security forces. A drone was flying over the esplanade, site guards told AFP.
After his departure, the situation on the esplanade was calm and worshipers and visitors were able to access it without incident, noted an AFP journalist.
“A prelude to an escalation”
The third holiest site in Islam and the holiest site in Judaism known as the “Temple Mount”, the Esplanade of the Mosques is located in the Old City of Jerusalem, in the Palestinian sector occupied and annexed by Israel.
Under a historic status quo, non-Muslims can visit the site at specific times but cannot pray there. However, in recent years, a growing number of Jews, often nationalists, pray there surreptitiously, a gesture denounced as a ” provocation “ by the Palestinians and several countries in the Middle East.
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Itamar Ben Gvir, known for his anti-Palestinian diatribes, had announced his intention to go there and the Palestinian Hamas, in power in Gaza and Israel’s pet peeve, had warned that such a visit would risk being “a prelude to an escalation”.
“The Israeli government of which I am a member will not yield to a vile and murderous organizationretorted Itamar Ben Gvir on Twitter. If Hamas thinks threats will deter me, let them understand that times have changed. »
“A minister, a practicing Jew, flouting the position of the rabbinate”
“Our Palestinian people will continue to defend their holy sites and the Al-Aqsa Mosque”launched a Hamas spokesman, Hazem Qassem, calling ” crime “ the displacement of Itamar Ben Gvir.
It’s about a “unprecedented provocation”estimated the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ramallah, in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.
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Itamar Ben Gvir had previously visited the site as an MP, but this is his first visit since he entered government last week. Contrary to the position of the Israeli rabbinate, he pleads for Jews to be allowed to enter and pray there.
“What will people say when they see a minister, an observant Jew, flouting the position of the rabbinate”wrote Yitzhak Yossef, Sephardi chief rabbi, in a letter to Itamar Ben Gvir.
Cascading convictions
The White House has warned that “any unilateral action that would endanger the status quo (around the holy sites in Jerusalem) would be unacceptable”. A spokesman for the US State Department told him “deeply concerned” by this trip by Itamar Ben Gvir, judging that the visit was likely to “exacerbate tensions and incite violence”.
For his part, the Deputy Spokesman of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Farhan Haq underlined “the importance of maintaining the status quo in holy places”adding that the UN chief “calls on everyone to refrain from taking measures that could aggravate tensions in and around holy places”.
Berlin also called on Tuesday to “avoid actions that could increase tensions”. “The Status Quo” on this Esplanade in Jerusalem has “long contributed to maintaining fragile peace and security around holy sites”underlines on Twitter the German ambassador in Israel, Steffen Seibert.
Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iran…
Several Arab countries and Iran condemned his visit. Jordan denounced a ” provocation “ foreshadowing “an escalation” and summoned the Israeli ambassador to Amman as the UAE called for “put an end to serious and provocative violations” on the site.
Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest places, and Morocco, whose monarch chairs the Al-Quds Committee [Jérusalem]the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have also condemned it.
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In Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy, a Foreign Ministry spokesman denounced a “violation of international rules and an insult to the values of Muslims around the world”.
Israel’s attack on holy sites in Jerusalem “will not only blow up the situation inside Palestine, but could blow up the whole region”Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Tuesday evening.
Previous killers
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he was “determined to strictly maintain the status quo”pointing out that other ministers had visited the esplanade in the past.
In 2000, the visit of Ariel Sharon, then head of the right-wing opposition, to the esplanade led to bloody clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police, marking the start of the second Intifada (Palestinian uprising, 2000- 2005).
In May 2021, after violence on the compound and elsewhere in East Jerusalem, Hamas fired salvoes of rockets into Israel, leading to an eleven-day war with the Israeli army.
Itamar Ben Gvir advocates the annexation by Israel of the West Bank and the transfer to neighboring countries of part of the Israeli Arabs, descendants of the Palestinians who remained on their land after the creation of Israel in 1948.
