Israeli minister flouts 1967 agreement by praying at Al-Aqsa mosque
Israel's ultra-nationalist security minister has provoked outrage by praying on the Temple Mount, violating a long-standing agreement between Israel and the Arab world.
Jews are forbidden from prayer at the east Jerusalem site under the 'status quo' agreement made between Israel and Jordan in 1967. It is the holiest site in Judaism and also the location of the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount while Jews around the world marked the Tisha B'Av fast day, commemorating the destruction of the first and second Holy Temples.
He was filmed at the site leading a Jewish prayer. He said: 'It is precisely from here, a message must be sent [to Hamas]: to ensure that we conquer all of the Gaza Strip, declare sovereignty over the entire Gaza Strip, take down every Hamas member, and encourage voluntary migration.
'Only in this way will we bring back the hostages and win the war.'
Credit: X
Mr Ben-Gvir's action forced Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to issue a statement saying that 'Israel's policy of maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will not change'.
Saudi Arabia condemned 'in the strongest terms of the repeated provocative practices by officials of the Israeli occupation authorities against Al-Aqsa Mosque'.
Its statement added: 'The Kingdom affirms that such practices fuel the conflict in the region.' The Arab nation is supporting the New York declaration with France, which recognises a Palestinian State and calls on Hamas to lay down its weapons.
Other Israeli ministers and politicians visited the Temple Mount on Sunday, including Yitzhak Wasserlauf, the national resistance minister, and Sharen Haskel, deputy minister of foreign affairs.
Mrs Haskel said: 'In the shadow of Oct 7, with our people still reeling from war and 50 hostages still in Hamas's dungeons of torture, the pain in Israeli society runs deep. The anger and grief are overwhelming.
'But I went up [to the Temple Mount] to remember – and to promise. To promise leadership that unites, that heals, and that protects the next generation.'
Yisrael Katz, Israel's defence minister, visited the Western Wall, saying the Temple Mount was again under Israeli sovereignty after 2,000 years.
He said: 'Israel haters around the world continue to make decisions against us and protest, and we will strengthen our hold and sovereignty over Jerusalem, at the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount, forever.'
It is not against the status quo agreement for Jews to visit the Al-Aqsa mosque, only to pray there.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, called on the international community and US to intervene 'immediately to put an end to the crimes of the settlers and the provocations of the extreme Right-wing government in Al-Aqsa Mosque, stop the war on the Gaza Strip and bring in humanitarian aid'.
Jordan condemned Mr Ben-Gvir's prayer as 'an unacceptable provocation, and a reprehensible escalation.'
Israel has 'no sovereignty over the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque', Jordan added.
About 1,200 Jews visited the Temple Mount on Sunday according to the Waqf, the authority which manages Islamic buildings at the site.
The Temple Mount has been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades. Jordan is the custodian of the site, but Israel controls security around it.
Palestinians and Israeli police force often clash there, especially during Ramadan and Passover, when religious Jews visit.
Ultra-nationalist religious Jews have sought to regain full control of the entire site, while Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters have attacked Israeli police forces from the site.
Hamas has often said that the Al-Aqsa compound/Temple Mount was a red line, vowing to 'liberate' all of Jerusalem through jihad.
The Oct 7 massacre was also named the 'Al-Aqsa flood' by the terror group.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Israel's cabinet votes to fire attorney general prosecuting Netanyahu
Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Israel Prime Minister's Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Monday unanimously voted to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miari, who is prosecuting the country's leader, prompting demonstrators to protest the decision in Jerusalem. This is the first time the Israeli government fired an attorney general in the 78-year history of the Jewish state. In February 2022, the government unanimously approved her appointment, the first woman to serve in the role. The dismissal is on hold because of a injunction by the High Court of Justice. The judges have ruled that they must first decide on the legality amid pending petitions by government watchdog groups and the attorney general. Haaretz reported the court is likely to strike it down because the rules were changed during the process. "The government has just unanimously approved the proposal of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Yariv Levin to immediately terminate the tenure of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara," according to a spokesperson for. In March, Levin sought to remove her, which led to a legal challenge and opposition among Israeli residents. Netanyahu, who didn't take part in the vote, has accused Baharav-Miari of abusing her power to undermine his policies and endanger the nation's rule of law. She also is accused of blocking the firing of Israel's domestic security agency. In Israel, the attorney general is not a political appointment and serves as the government's legal adviser and public watchdog. Baharav-Miari, in a letter to the minister, wrote that "through new rules to designed to ensure a desire outcome," the chief prosecutor in the case against Netanyahu is being dismissed. "From now on, the government will be able to fire any attorney general -- the state's top prosecutor -- without any oversight mechanisms, and even on improper grounds," she wrote. "For example, in retaliation for warning against illegal actions, ordering an investigation of a minister, refusing to halt a criminal case against a government member, or as part of a political deal. "This is deeply troubling in general, and especially so given that dismissing the attorney general and appointing a replacement could influence the prime minister's criminal trial and ongoing investigations involving other ministers and associates." The existing law requires the vote of the professional committee that initially approved her to agree to fire her. Instead, the cabinet established a new committee, which summoned her for a hearing. She refused calling the panel "corrupt and illegitimate." Senior government officials were offering a compromise: she would step down voluntarily and choose her successor, Haaretz reported. But she is unlikely to agree to this, Haaretz reported. "This conduct undermines the guarantees of independence and integrity across the entire civil service, especially for gatekeepers, and causes both immediate and cumulative harm," she said last week. Netanyahu was indicted in November 2019 for charges that include bribery, fraud and breach of trust, including allegedly accepting $200,000 in gifts from wealthy businessmen for favorable media coverage. The trial began in May 2020. The prosecution rested its case in July 2024. The defense's case has been continually delayed. Protesters appeared outside the prime minister's Office, waving Israeli flags, and holding signs and posters. Democrats party chairman Yair Golan said the cabinet meeting took place "as our hostages are dying in the tunnels, as Israeli society is tearing itself apart." He said "the Israeli government in these difficult times is only busy with itself." U.S. President Donald Trump has called for the cancellation of the trial, drawing parallels to his trial, calling it a "witch hunt" and "travesty of justice." Also Monday, about 600 former Israeli security officials urged Trump to pressure Israel to end the war against Hamas in Gaza. The open letter reads: "Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer prime minister Netanyahu and his government in the right direction: end the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering." Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2003, with 1,200 Israelis, mainly civilians, initially killed with 251 abducted and an estimate 50 remain, including 33 presumed dead. More than 60,900 Palestinians, including more than half women and children, have died according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Mike Johnson reportedly makes provocative visit to contested Israeli settlement
On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly made a provocative visit to an Israeli-held area that has been deemed an illegal settlement by the United Nations. Axios reported that the Louisiana Republican and several other GOP lawmakers made an unannounced trip to Israel over the weekend amid growing criticism of the country's government as it continues its deadly occupation of Gaza. On Monday, Johnson was photographed in the Ariel region of the occupied West Bank, and a pro-Israel GOP activist on the trip cited him as saying the territory is the 'rightful property' of the Jewish people. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry reportedly condemned Johnson's visit as 'provocative incitement that encourages settler crimes and land confiscation.' The trip's timing certainly reveals a contrast between the speaker, who is a staunch backer of the Israeli government, and the increasingly outspoken number of Israel critics in Congress — a group that includes MAGA loyalists. (Johnson had planned a trip to address the Israeli parliament in June, but it was postponed because of the conflict between Israel and Iran.) As I recently wrote, more than two dozen Democratic senators denounced the raft of settler violence in the West Bank against people of Palestinian descent that has also killed Americans. So while some members of Congress seem disturbed by settler expansion and the deadly violence it has involved, the House speaker's propagandistic appearance at the Ariel settlement seemingly emboldens the purveyors of that violence to continue. This article was originally published on Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
House Democrats sign on to letter urging Trump to recognise Palestinian statehood
More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress have signed on to a letter that urges the Trump administration to recognise Palestinian statehood, in a draft copy shared with the Guardian. Congressman Ro Khanna of California is leading the letter addressed to the president and secretary of state Marco Rubio, and is joined by several House progressives, including Greg Casar of Texas, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, and Maxwell Frost of Florida. 'This tragic moment has highlighted for the world the long overdue need to recognize Palestinian self-determination,' the letter reads. 'Just as the lives of Palestinians must be immediately protected, so too must their rights as a people and nation urgently be acknowledged and upheld.' The letter comes as human rights experts sound the alarm over the unfolding famine in Gaza, and as some of Israel's key western allies, including France and Canada, have recently pledged to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN general assembly. The UK also made a similar pledge if Israel could not agree to a ceasefire by September. The Democrats' letter adds that a viable Palestinian state 'will need to fully recognize Israel and adopt a framework to guarantee Israel's security, including the disarmament of and relinquishing of power by Hamas in order to be broadly embraced by the community of nations'. A similar framework was proposed by French president Emmanuel Macron last month. Khanna's office said the letter would be sent out after 16 September, which coincides with the UN general assembly that runs from 8-23 September this year. 'This is the moment for the United States to officially recognise a Palestinian state,' Khanna told the Guardian. He added that he only began outreach 'this past week' but characterised the response as 'overwhelming'. The Trump administration, however, has made it clear that it does not agree with the growing list of countries agreeing to recognise a Palestinian state. In a White House briefing last week, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president views statehood as ultimately 'rewarding Hamas'. The administration's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Gaza last week to assess aid conditions on the ground, and Trump told reporters on Sunday that the US is 'putting up money to get the people fed'. But in recent weeks, there have been several cracks in the unconditional support for Israel in Congress, including from Republicans. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Maga stalwart, characterised the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a 'genocide' in a post on X last week, breaking from the GOP's fervent backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military campaign. While a vote to bar US arms sales to Israel ultimately fell short last week, a record number of Democratic senators voted in favour of the two resolutions to stop the sale of offensive weapons to Israel.
