By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) – Russia on Wednesday expressed concern over Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, the far-right minister stormed the complex with over 2,000 radical Israelis, praying, waving flags, and singing the national anthem even though Jewish religious rights are banned at the holy sites.
In a video he filmed, Ben-Gvir said: “Our policy is to enable Jewish prayer.” He also promised to “defeat Hamas” in Gaza.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Moscow is extremely concerned about the Israeli minister’s storming of the complex, which it described as “another provocative action.”
“Israeli authorities should not limit themselves to condemning them, but take effective measures to stop this vicious practice, which grossly violates the status quo of Jerusalem’s holy sites, enshrined in the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty of 1994,” the statement said.
“Such antics by supporters of religious Zionism, unfortunately, are regular,” it added.
The statement went on to say that such actions contribute to “fueling radical sentiments both in Israeli society and among Palestinians and undermine international efforts aimed at de-escalating violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict zone amid ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip.”
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.