Israel: Netanyahu’s new government kicks off with serious provocation on delicate Mosques esplanade

The gesture recalls that of Ariel Sharon, then leader of Israel’s conservative opposition, when in 2000 he visited the esplanade of mosques and unleashed a wave of violence which, in six years, cost the lives of nearly 5,000 people. On top of that, Israel’s new Minister of Homeland Security, extremist Itamar Ben Gvirdone this Tuesday a visit to the same sensitive place. And the reaction was not long in coming.

The Arab and Islamic countries “strongly” condemned the visit and warned against the consequences of such a “unilateral measure”.

The 22-nation Arab League blamed the government of new Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement for “the consequences of these far-right practices and plans and their repercussions on Palestine, the region and world peace , Included the possibility of unleashing a religious war“.

Netanyahu assumed a new mandate last week to lead the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.

The secretary general of the League, Ahmed Abulgheit, underlined in the note that the visit “fits in the context of the beginning of the implementation of the extremist program and the the liquidation agenda of the Netanyahu government, with all that this program implies in terms of inflaming the situation in Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied territories in a very dangerous way”.

A similar position was expressed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), with 57 member states, which condemned in another statement the “provocation” of Ben Gvirand urged the international community to “put an end to Israeli violations that would fuel religious conflict, extremism and instability”.

What happens in the Esplanade of the Mosques

The Esplanade of the Mosques it is sacred both for muslim-hosts the important Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven – as per the Jews, who call it temple mount because they believe the Second Temple was built there.

It is the third holiest site in world Islam, only behind Mecca and Medina.

There is a status quo around the holy places in Jerusalem. It can be visited by people of all religionsbut in the esplanade of the Mosques they can pray only those who profess Islam.

“I’m here because with my presence I want to show that the Temple Mount belongs to us,” said one Sharon during his notorious visit who witnessed how, a few hours after leaving the mosque, Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza have been engulfed in a wave of violence.

Now, Ben Gvir’s visit has also been condemned by Jordan and Egypt, who signed peace agreements with Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively, as well as by Saudi Arabia, a country with which Netanyahu aspires to reach an agreement similar to those signed two years ago. years with UAE and Bahrain.

“The Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) condemns these provocative practices“, which “obstruct international efforts for peace” in the Middle East, reads a statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

The note reiterated Riyadh’s position which “supports the creation of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied (by Israel) in 1967, with its capital in East Jerusalem”.

For its part, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry described the visit as “a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law and the historical and legal ‘status quo’ of Jerusalem and its holy places”, and considered that it is a “provocative and reprehensible act” which “warns of further escalation and represents a dangerous trend”.

In a separate statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed its “total rejection of any unilateral measures”, warning against “the negative repercussions of such measures on security and stability in the occupied territories and in the region, and on the future of the process of peace”. .

Clarin writing with information from EFE

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