By Oliver Towfigh Nia
BERLIN (AA) – Germany on Wednesday criticized Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s “provocative” visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
“Yesterday’s visit is a provocation, and that’s why we clearly reject this action,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger told journalists in Berlin.
“The federal (German) government opposes unilateral steps that endanger the historic status quo on the Temple Mount.”
Burger called on the Israeli government “to put a stop to further deliberate provocations,” urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to preserve the status quo at the holy site.
The far-right official’s controversial visit on Tuesday has drawn international outcry, among them the US, Jordan, Türkiye, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
In the face of mounting condemnation of the visit, Netanyahu has said he remains committed to the status quo at the flashpoint site.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world’s third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area 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, a move never recognized by the international community.