Date :- 04-01-2023
Watsupptoday Desk

The United States has raised concerns about Israel's extreme-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visiting Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, for the first time since becoming a minister. Ben-Gvir’s visit to the holy to both Jews and Muslims has enraged Palestinians, who see it as a provocation. "Our government will not surrender to the threats of Hamas," Ben-Gvir said in a statement published by his spokesman, after the Palestinian armed group warned such a move was a "red line". The US has warned against any change in the status quo. "The United States stands firmly... for preservation of the status quo with respect to holy sites in Jerusalem," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.State Department spokesman Ned Price separately said the United States was "deeply concerned" by the visit of Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has a history of inflammatory statements and was given a key security position in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest government. "This visit has the potential to exacerbate tensions and to provoke violence," Price said of the visit which was widely condemned in the Islamic world. Ben-Gvir's visit comes days after he took office as national security minister, giving his decision to enter the highly sensitive site considerable weight. Al-Aqsa mosque is the third-holiest place in Islam and the most sacred site to Jews, who refer to the compound as the Temple Mount.Under a historic status quo, non-Muslims can visit the site at specific times but are not allowed to pray there. But in recent years a growing number of Jews, mostly Israeli nationalists, have covertly prayed on the compound, a development decried by Palestinians. "The Temple Mount is the most important place for the people of Israel, and we maintain the freedom of movement for Muslims and Christians, but Jews will also go up to the mount, and those who make threats must be dealt with -- with an iron hand," said Ben-Gvir. Lying within Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the compound is administered by Jordan's Waqf Islamic affairs council, with Israeli forces operating there and controlling access. Ben-Gvir has lobbied to overhaul management of the site to allow Jewish prayer there, a move opposed by mainstream rabbinical authorities. Waqf guards told AFP that Ben-Gvir was accompanied by units of the Israeli security forces, while a drone hovered above the holy site. After he left the site on Tuesday morning, visitors arrived at the plaza and the situation remained quiet.Jordan slammed the Israeli politician for "breaking into the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque and violating its sanctity." Foreign ministry spokesman Sinan Majali condemned it as a "provocative step" in a statement.