Israeli officials increasingly concerned over Ben-Gvir’s repeated attacks on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli government officials and opposition leaders are disgruntled with a call by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday to build a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

The extremist minister claimed that Jews have the right to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying that he would build a synagogue at the flashpoint site.

“The policy allows for prayers on the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque). There is equal law for Jews and Muslims. I would build a synagogue there,” Ben-Gvir, the leader of the Jewish Power Party, told Israel’s Army Radio.

It was the first time for the Israeli minister to openly speak about building a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, he has repeatedly called in recent months for allowing Jewish prayers at the site.

His call came amid repeated incursions into the complex by illegal Israeli settlers, in full view of Israeli police who fall under the responsibility of the far-right minister.

- Dangerous, irresponsible act

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned against attempts to change the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, terming Ben-Gvir’s call as a “dangerous, unnecessary, and irresponsible act.”

“Ben-Gvir’s actions endanger the national security of the State of Israel and its international status,” he warned on X.

“The action carried out by the IDF (Israeli army) yesterday to curb the Hezbollah attack strengthened the State of Israel, Ben-Gvir’s statements - weaken us,” he added.

Israeli warplanes launched dozens of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday, in the most severe attack since cross-border attacks with Hezbollah began on Oct. 8, 2023. The Israeli army claimed that the strikes aimed to prevent an impending Hezbollah attack.

The Lebanese group, for its part, said it launched hundreds of missiles and drones deep into Israel in the “first phase” of its response to last month’s assassination of its senior commander Fouad Shukr in the capital Beirut.

In response to Gallant, Ben-Gvir claimed that the defense minister “bows down to Hamas and drags the State of Israel into an illegal deal.” He was referring to efforts to reach a cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal with Palestinians.

“Gallant chooses to continue the destructive policy of the defeatist conception also against Hezbollah in the north,” he said.

“Israel must bring a decisive war against Hezbollah that will remove the threat in the north and allow the residents to return home safely,” the extremist minister said.

- ‘Weak’ Netanyahu

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to control his government.

“The whole region sees Netanyahu's weakness against Ben-Gvir,” he said on X.

“He is unable to control the government even when it is a clear attempt to undermine our national security. There is no policy, no strategy, no government really,” he added.

In response to Ben-Gvir's repeated calls for Jewish prayers at the site, Netanyahu’s office has claimed that the status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque remains unchanged.

The status quo, in place since before the 1967 Israeli occupation, designates the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem, under the Jordanian minister of Awqaf and Islamic affairs, as responsible for managing Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is a place of worship for Muslims only.

However, since 2003, Israeli police have unilaterally allowed illegal settlers to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque on weekdays, excluding Fridays and Saturdays, without the approval of the Islamic Waqf.

- Bloodshed

Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel warned that Ben-Gvir’s actions could lead to bloodshed in the region.

Arbel, from the Shas Party, called on Netanyahu “to put Ben-Gvir in his place, especially regarding what he said this morning about the Temple Mount,” according to Army Radio.

“His (Ben-Gvir's) irresponsible words endanger Israel’s strategic alliances with Islamic countries that are part of the coalition against the Iranian axis of evil,” he said.

“His lack of intelligence could lead to bloodshed,” he warned.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered the third holiest site in Islam. Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount, believing it to be the location of two ancient Jewish temples.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. In 1980, Israel annexed the entire city, a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Israel has faced international condemnation over its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that killed over 40,000 people since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio