The Israeli Minister triggers anger by praying on the Sensitive Holy Site of Jerusalem

The Minister of National Security of Israel, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the mosque of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and prayed there, violating an arrangement of decades covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East.

Photos and videos of his visit show Ben-Gvir, director of Jewish prayers at the enclosure, known by the Jews under the name of Mount du Temple, in East Jerusalem-East.

Pray on the site breaks a long -standing arrangement which allows the Jews to visit the site but not to pray.

The office of the Israeli Prime Minister published a statement claiming that there had been no change in Israel’s policy to maintain the status quo agreement which only allows Muslim worship.

Jordan, site goalkeeper, called Ben-Gvir’s last visit “an unacceptable provocation”.

Hamas called him “a deepening of the ongoing attacks against our Palestinian people”, while a spokesperson for the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas said that the visit “had crossed all the red lines”.

The site is the most holy place for the Jews because it was the site of two biblical temples. It is the third most sacred place for Muslims, who believe that this is where the Prophet Muhammad went up to heaven.

It was captured by Israel of Jordan in the war of the Middle East of 1967. Under the status quo, Jordan was authorized to continue its historical role as a site guard, while Israel took control of security and access.

The Palestinians accuse Israel of having taken measures to undermine the arrangements and complain that in recent years, Jewish visitors have often been seen praying without being arrested by the Israeli police.

The WAQF, the Islamic endowment that runs the site, said Ben-Gvir was one of the 1,250 Jews who set up the complex on Sunday morning.

Ben-Girvir, an ultra-nationalist who, as Minister of National Security, supervises the police, has already visited the site, but the Times of Israel reported that it was the first time that he was praying openly on the site.

He was flanked by police as he entered and visited the enclosure.

In a statement on the site, Ben-Gvir said that the “horror” video of hostages recently published by Hamas, in which they seemed emaciated, aimed to put pressure on Israel and called the return of hostages.

The Minister also repeated his call for Israel to occupy the entire Gaza Strip and to encourage what he described as “voluntary emigration” of the Palestinians of the territory.

Experts say that this would be equivalent to the forced displacement of civilians and a possible war crime.

It was sanctioned by the United Kingdom for “repeated incentives of violence against the Palestinian communities” in occupied West Bank.