Netanyahu says committed to Al-Aqsa status quo

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he is committed to preserving the status quo at East Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

Tension rose across the Palestinian territories early Tuesday after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa complex amid warnings of unrest.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is committed to strictly maintaining the status quo, without changes, on the Temple Mount [Al-Aqsa Mosque complex],” a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Netanyahu denied that Ben-Gvir’s visit to the flashpoint site constituted a change in the understandings governing activities there.

“Under the status quo, ministers have gone up to the Temple Mount in recent years, including [then-]Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan; therefore, the claim that a change has been made in the status quo is without foundation,” he said.

The status quo allows Muslims to worship at the Al-Aqsa complex and followers of other religions to visit the site.

Ben-Gvir’s visit has triggered a storm of Palestinian and international condemnations, including the US, Jordan, Türkiye, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area as the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.