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Gaza, Aug 27 (IANS) Palestine has condemned Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s remarks about building a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Palestinian people will not accept any harm to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is a red line that cannot be allowed to be tampered with at all, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, said on Monday in a press statement released by the official news agency WAFA.
Abu Rudeineh said that Ben-Gvir attempted to drag the region into “a religious war that will burn everyone,” calling on the international community, especially the US administration, to take immediate action to rein in the right-wing Israeli government and force it to abide by the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, holds sacred significance for both Muslims and Jews and has long been a flashpoint for deadly violence between the two sides.
Under the status quo, non-Muslim worshippers may visit the site in the heart of the Old City but are not allowed to pray there.
In remarks to Israeli Army Radio earlier on Monday, Ben-Gvir said that “Jews can pray on the Temple Mount,” adding that under his term as the Minister of National Security, there will be no discrimination between Jews and Muslims.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a press statement that “there is no change in the status quo in the Temple Mount”.
“If I could do anything I wanted, I would put an Israeli flag on the site,” Ben-Gvir said in an interview.
Asked several times by a journalist if he would build a synagogue at the site if it were up to him, Ben-Gvir finally replied: “Yes.”
Since taking office in December 2022, Ben-Gvir, as National Security Minister, has visited the holy site at least six times, drawing severe condemnations.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is administered by Jordan, but access to the site itself is controlled by Israeli security forces.
Ben-Gvir told Army Radio that Jews should be allowed to pray in the compound.
“Arabs can pray wherever they want, so Jews should be able to pray wherever they want,” he said, claiming that the “current policy allows Jews to pray at this site”.