- Title: Palestinians condemn Ben Gvir's visit to Al Aqsa
- Date: 3rd January 2023
- Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JANUARY 3, 2023) (REUTERS) PALESTINIAN POLITICAL ADVISOR TO THE FOREIGN MINISTER, AHMED AL-DEEK, TALKING TO A JOURNALIST PALESTINIAN FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN POLITICAL ADVISOR TO THE FOREIGN MINISTER, AHMED AL-DEEK, SAYING: "We condemn this provocative breaking in and we hold the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly responsible for this breaking in, especially that he mislead the international community about this breaking in. We take it seriously when (Itamar) Ben-Gvir, the extremist minister Ben-Gvir, breaks into the Al-Aqsa compound because that will affect the situation and we consider this breaking in as an official Israeli invitation to a round of violence in the field that will be hard to control. We call on the international community and especially the American administration to move immediately and to stop the activities of this government." GAZA CITY, GAZA (JANUARY 3, 2023) (REUTERS) HAMAS SPOKESMAN, HAZEM QASSEM, AT THE OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HAMAS SPOKESMAN, HAZEM QASSEM, SAYING: "The crime of breaking in by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir to Al-Aqsa compound this morning comes to continue the continuous aggression against the Arab, Palestinian and Islamic identity of Al-Aqsa, this is a dangerous provocative action for the feelings of our nation, and that will increase the tension and will make us close to serious violence on the ground and the occupation will be totally responsible for that. Our Palestinian nation and the resistance will continue to fight and resist to kick the occupation out and in order to preserve the identity of this city and the Holy Al-Aqsa." HAMAS FLAG / PALESTINIAN FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HAMAS SPOKESMAN, HAZEM QASSEM, SAYING: "It is clear that the members of the current government are more extreme than any previous one. Neither the U.S., the international community nor the regional powers can stop the extremists of this government. Therefore, if this behavior continues it will bring us all to a big conflict and a real battle on the ground." CARS ON STREET IN GAZA VARIOUS OF GRAFFITI FOR AL AQSA
- Embargoed: 17th January 2023 09:39
- Keywords: Al Aqsa Gaza Hamas Israel Palestinians
- Location: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK / GAZA CITY, GAZA
- City: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK / GAZA CITY, GAZA
- Country: Palestinian Occupied Territory
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA001002903012023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Palestinian officials in the West Bank and Gaza condemned on Tuesday (January 3) the brief visit of Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the compound that houses the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
"The Temple Mount is open to all," Ben-Gvir said on Twitter, using the Jewish name for the site. An accompanying photograph showed him strolling at the periphery of the compound, surrounded by a clutch of bodyguards and flanked by a fellow Orthodox Jew.
An Israeli official said the quarter-hour visit took place in accordance with a so-called status quo arrangement, dating back decades, that allows non-Muslims to visit on condition they do not pray. It passed without incident, the official said.
The rise of Ben-Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party, to join a religious-nationalist coalition under re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has deepened Palestinians' anger over the long frustrations of their goal of statehood.
A Palestinian foreign ministry official strongly condemned the visit.
A spokesman for Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group that rejects coexistence with Israel, said Ben Gvir's move was a "dangerous provocative action for the feelings of our nation."
There was no indication that Ben-Gvir approached the mosque, however. Once an advocate of ending the ban on Jewish prayer at the compound, he has, since taking office, spoken in a more non-committal way about a need to enforce "non-discrimination" there.
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