Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of a far-right religious party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, again rejected talks with Hamas during a controversial visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Speaking in a video published on X, Ben Gvir repeated his opposition to negotiations with the radical Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement on a ceasefire and the release of the hostages it continues to hold.
He also called for Jews to be allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, which is known as the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims and is Islam’s third-holiest site, containing the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Jews venerate the Temple Mount as the site of two destroyed Jewish temples. The site is currently under the administration of Jordan’s Islamic Affairs Ministry, with Israel providing security. While Jews are permitted to visit the site, they are not allowed to pray there.
Following Ben-Gvir’s visit, which was seen as provocative, Netanyahu’s office said policy on the Temple Mount had not changed. “There is no private policy by a minister,” it said.
Prayers can be heard in the background of Ben-Gvir’s video, and Israeli media also published images of dozens of observant Jews praying during the minister’s visit.
Ben-Gvir has in the past criticized the agreement with the Muslim authorities as “racist” and anti-Jewish, while Palestinians fear that Israel plans to extend its control over the holy sites.
According to the video, Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av, a day of fasting by observant Jews to mark the destruction of the two temples. Media reports put the number attending at more than 1,600. The Palestinian Authority condemned the visit.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid expressed criticism of Ben-Gvir’s “election campaigning on Temple Mount” in “complete contrast to the position of the security forces.”
The visit by a “group of irresponsible extremists” within the government endangered lives, Lapid, the head of a centrist party, said.
