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Al-Aqsa Mosque Stormed By Israeli Cabinet Minister Provoking International Backlash

On Tuesday morning, far right Israeli Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, provoking the convening of a UN Security Council meeting and setting the tone for the new Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu.

On the same day that Israeli settlers desecrated a Protestant Christian graveyard by smashing gravestones, Israel’s new security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, announced his intention to storm al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday. The decision seemingly represents a push towards the openly stated goal of the Religious Zionism Party, of which Ben-Gvir is a part, that hopes to achieve changing the status quo at the religious Holy Site.

Extremist settler organizations, known together as the ‘Temple Mount’ movement, have for years been pursuing an agenda which aims to takeover the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the building of what they call the ‘Third Temple’. This would mean destroying the Haram al-Sharif and Al-Qibli Mosques at the site and turning the area into a synagogue. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is considered the third holiest site for Muslims, representing the first Qaba, or site to which Muslims direct prayer. Al-Aqsa is also a symbol of Palestinian nationalism and represents the heart of their struggle for national liberation, making it important to Christians and Muslim Palestinians alike, although only Muslim worship is allowed at the site — and there was no indication that Ben-Gvir had prayed during his visit.

The new Israeli government, which is headed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, was only able to form a majority by forming a coalition with the Religious Zionism Party, headed by Bezalel Smotrich. Religious Zionism is led by illegal Israeli settlers and advocates a position of Jewish religious extremism, fuelled by hardline racism. Both Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir believe in segregation, ethnic cleansing, the ethnic supremacy of Jews over Arabs, and seek for the Israeli occupation forces to be granted full immunity to commit any warcrimes they choose against Palestinians. One of the their policies, which Netanyahu has embraced, is the annexation of the West Bank and another is introducing the death penalty for Palestinians. Israel’s military courts have a 99.7% conviction rate, meaning that any Palestinian they seek to execute will have no hope of appeal, even if there is no evidence for their alleged actions.

After having announced his intention to storm al-Aqsa on Sunday, Itamar Ben-Gvir then announced on Monday that he was going to postpone the provocative action, following threats from Hamas in Gaza, sparking outrage from his hardline supporters. The following day, after the pressure placed upon him to storm the site, he decided to enter in the earlier hours of the morning, unannounced and heavily guarded, in order to fulfill his commitment to his supporters. Due to a lack of media coverage and the impression that he was not going to carry out the provocation, there was no popular action to prevent him from entering the compound.

What has become clear, is that Itamar Ben-Gvir was pressured by the Netanyahu government to hold back on his provocative move and this clearly outraged his extremist supporters, who had started to claim that he bowed to Hamas pressure. However, he clearly listens to his voters and carried out the provocation, albeit in a sneaky and cowardly way, but without a care as to what the repercussions would be. Israel’s opposition leader and former prime minister, Yair Lapid, had warned that such a visit by Ben-Gvir would spark violence.

Rather than an armed response from the Palestinians, what followed was an international wave of condemnation for Itamar Ben-Gvir’s provocative move. Jordan, Egypt, and the UAE, all of which normalized ties with Israel, expressed their dismay, with Amman releasing a strong worded condemnation, as Abu Dhabi, along with Beijing, both called for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the development. The Emiratis were set to receive Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, making his first foreign trip, since taking office, to the UAE. This meeting was postponed for an unstated reason on Monday, assumed to be due to Ben-Gvir’s provocation.

The Lebanese government issued a strong statement as well, condemning the Israeli violation, whilst Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech in which he threatened a regional war over a change in the status quo at the Holy Site. Nasrallah raised his voice as he reminded Tel Aviv that Hezbollah was prepared to go to all out war over the theft of Lebanon’s natural resources, warning that this issue is much more serious. In May of 2021, following the 11-day war between the Palestinian resistance and Israeli military, the Hezbollah leader began forming a regional front to enter into battle with Israel, in the event that the Holy Sites in Jerusalem come under attack. Yemen’s Ansarallah quickly vowed to join the equation.

One of Benjamin Netanyahu’s goals, of his sixth term in office, is to expand what were infamously known as the “Abraham Accords”, which were a number of normalization deals between corrupt Arab dictatorships and Israel. Provocations such as Itamar Ben-Gvir’s storming of Al-Aqsa and the hardline racist policies of the Religious Zionism Party are likely to push Saudi Arabia away from signing such a deal. The embarrassment of the Royal family in United Arab Emirates has shown here, this comes from an autocratic regime that has a population who are not really interested in politics, unlike the Saudi population which could present a real challenge to the leadership.

If Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich continue on this trajectory, Israel’s relationship with the Jordanian Monarch, King Abdullah II, could deteriorate, as Jordan’s custodianship over Jerusalem’s Holy Sites is highly valued by the Hashemite ruler. This hardline fascist regime is heading towards an all out clash with not only the Palestinians, but perhaps regional players such as Hezbollah and Ansarallah.

Robert Inlakesh
Robert Inlakesh
Robert Inlakesh is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, writer, Middle-East analyst & news correspondent for The Last American Vagabond.
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