A far-right Israeli minister has sparked outrage by saying he would build a Jewish synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem if he could, reinforcing the narrative that the Muslim holy site and Palestinian national symbol is under threat.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has repeatedly ignored the Israeli government’s longstanding ban on Jews praying at the site, told Army Radio on Monday that if possible, he would build a synagogue at the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The Al-Aqsa site is the third holiest site in Islam and a symbol of Palestinian identity. Jews also consider it to be home to the First and Second Temples, the latter of which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
“If I could do anything I wanted, I would put an Israeli flag on the site,” Ben-Gvir said in the interview.
Asked repeatedly by a reporter whether he would build a synagogue on the site if it were up to him, Ben-Gvir finally replied: “Yes.”
Under the decades-old status quo maintained by Israeli authorities, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound in occupied East Jerusalem at specified times, but they are not allowed to pray or display religious symbols there.
Ben-Gvir has also been criticized by some Orthodox Jews, who consider the site too sacred for Jews to visit. According to leading rabbis, any Jew is forbidden from entering any part of Al-Aqsa because of its sanctity.
In recent years, restrictions on the compound have been increasingly flouted by hardline religious nationalists like Ben-Gvir, sometimes sparking confrontations with Palestinians.
Once considered a fringe movement, the campaign to build a “Third Temple” at Al-Aqsa is gaining momentum in Israel, and many Palestinians see parallels with what happened in Hebron, where the Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, was divided.
Since taking office in December 2022, Ben-Gvir, as national security minister, has visited the holy site at least six times, drawing harsh condemnation.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is administered by Jordan, but access to the site itself is controlled by Israeli security forces.
Ben-Gvir told Army Radio that Jews should be allowed to pray in the compound.
“Arabs can pray wherever they want, so Jews should be able to pray wherever they want,” he said, asserting that “the current policy allows Jews to pray at this site.”
Several ultra-Orthodox Jewish politicians have already denounced Ben-Gvir’s attempts to encourage Jewish prayer at Al-Aqsa.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel has already called Ben-Gvir’s comments on the subject “blasphemy,” adding that “the ban on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount has been the position of all the great men of Israel for generations.”
‘Dangerous’
Jordan reacted to Ben-Gvir’s latest remarks.
“Al-Aqsa and the holy sites are a pure place of worship for Muslims,” Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sufian Qudah said in a statement.
“Jordan will take all necessary measures to stop attacks on holy sites” and “prepare the necessary legal files to take action before international courts against attacks on holy sites,” Qudah said.
Several Israeli officials also condemned Ben-Gvir, while a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said “there is no change” in current policy.
“Challenging the status quo on the Temple Mount is a dangerous, unnecessary and irresponsible act,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on X.
“Ben-Gvir’s actions endanger the national security of the State of Israel.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X that Ben-Gvir’s repeated comments show that “Netanyahu has lost control of his government.”
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned that “Al-Aqsa and the holy sites are a red line that we will not allow under any circumstances to be touched.”
Hamas, with which Israel is engaged in a bitter war in the Gaza Strip, called the minister’s remarks “dangerous” and called on Arab and Islamic countries to “assume responsibility for protecting holy sites.”
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on Israel to respect its obligations as an occupying power and to stop its provocative statements aimed at escalating tensions, Egyptian website Ahram Online reported.
“These statements hamper efforts to achieve a truce and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and pose a serious threat to the future of the final settlement of the Palestinian issue, which is based on the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the statement said.
Monday’s comments come less than two weeks after Ben-Gvir sparked outrage — including from influential Israeli rabbis — by visiting the compound with hundreds of supporters, many of whom appeared to pray openly in defiance of status quo rules.