Israel’s far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound early on Sunday, The New Arab reported, citing a source from the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem.
Ben-Gvir was accompanied by 30 members of the Israeli occupation forces and intelligence personnel, the report said.
The incursion lasted for about 15 minutes, during which the far-right minister stopped at the eastern areas of the mosque’s compound, near the Bab al-Rahma prayer area, before leaving in a hurry.
“We are in charge here,” Israeli media reported him as saying during the incursion. He praised the Israeli occupation forces, saying they were “proving who’s in charge in Jerusalem”.
Israel's far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound early on Sunday. #AlAqsaUnderAttack #Jerusalem #Palestine pic.twitter.com/Bj9Qx6Huzh
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 21, 2023
Meanwhile, illegal Jewish settlers stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry issued a condemnation of the visit, calling it a “provocation,” and a “serious violation of international law and the status quo on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Ben Gvir’s latest incursion into Al-Aqsa came amid days after the so-called “flag march” saw thousands of far-right Israelis march through the Old City carrying Israeli flags, violently chanting “death to Arabs” and vandalizing Palestinian properties.
(The New Arab, PC)
