The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemns the action of Ben Gvir and holds Netanyahu responsible
The new Minister of National Security of Israel, Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the far-right party Otzma Yehudit, has visited the Esplanade of the Mosques on Tuesday.
Ben Gvir has assured, upon his arrival at the Esplanade of the Mosques, that the Israeli Government “will not give in to the threats of Hamas”, according to the newspaper ‘The Jerusalem Post’.
“It is the most important place for the people of Israel. We will maintain freedom of movement for Muslims and Christians, but Jews will also go up, and those who make threats will be treated with an iron fist,” the minister said.
This visit came after his cabinet agreed to postpone the visit, following a request by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu, condemnation from the opposition and warnings from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad, considered terrorist groups by Israel.
Hamas spokesman Abdelatif al Qanu stressed that this plan “reflects the arrogance of a fascist settler government and its premeditated intentions to escalate raids and attacks against the Al Aqsa Mosque with the intention of dividing it.” While Islamic Jihad spokesman Tareq Selmi described Ben Gvir as “minister of Terrorism and Fascism”.
Likewise, former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid demanded that the minister not visit the holy place, warning that “it is a deliberate provocation” that would cause deaths.
The situation has also generated international concern and King Abdullah II of Jordan went so far as to demand last week that the new Israeli government not cross the ‘red lines’ of Amman in relation to the holy places in Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has “strongly condemned” the entry of Israeli Minister Ben Gvir into the Al Aqsa Mosque, an action that it calls an “assault”.
The ministerial portfolio has also indicated that it considers this action “an unprecedented provocation and a serious threat to the conflict scene, as well as contempt for the demands to put an end to it.”
Likewise, Foreign Affairs holds Netanyahu responsible “for this flagrant attack against Al Aqsa”, assuring that “he will follow up at all levels in coordination with the brothers of the kingdom of Jordan”, who are the authorities that manage the place.
