Al-Quds, MINA – Israeli right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir forced his way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Al-Quds (East Jerusalem) on Thursday, marking a new provocation amid the ongoing war on Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported.
Ben-Gvir entered the site under heavy police protection and explored the mosque’s courtyards, an official with the Jordan-run Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said.
It was the extremist minister’s fifth visit to the flashpoint compound since he joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in 2022.
The visit coincided with the week-long Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which began on Thursday.
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The National Democratic Alliance, an Israeli Arab party, denounced Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Al-Aqsa compound as a “deliberate provocation of the sentiments of Arabs and Muslims around the world.”
The party called on Palestinians to intensify their attendance and visits to the mosque.
Since 2003, Israel has allowed illegal settlers to enter the flashpoint compound almost every day except Fridays and Saturdays. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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