An ultranationalist Israeli Cabinet minister went to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Tuesday for the first time since joining the new far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
Itamar Ben-Gvir went to a place that Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary. He did this with a large group of police officers on either side of him.
Ben-Gvir has long called for more Jewish access to the holy site. Palestinians see this as a provocation and a possible step toward Israel taking full control of the compound. Most rabbis say that Jews shouldn’t pray on the site, but in recent years, there has been a growing movement of Jews who support worship there.
When Ben-Gvir said earlier this week that he wanted to go to the site, the Islamic militant group Hamas threatened him.
The hilltop site in Jerusalem’s Old City is the holiest place in Judaism and the third holiest place in Islam. It is also the most emotional place in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been going on for decades.
Ben-Gvir is in charge of the ultranationalist religious Jewish Power group, and he has often said and done things that make Palestinians feel bad.