A far-right Israeli minister has sparked outrage by saying he would build a Jewish synagogue on the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem if he could, reinforcing the narrative that the Muslim holy site and Palestinian national symbol are under threat.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has repeatedly ignored the Israeli government's long-standing ban on Jews praying at the site, told Army Radio on Monday that if possible, he would build a synagogue on the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The Al-Aqsa complex is the third holiest site in Islam and a symbol of Palestinian identity. Jews also consider it the site of the First and Second Temples, the latter destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
“If I could do whatever I wanted, I would put an Israeli flag there,” Ben-Gvir said in the interview.
Asked several times by a journalist whether he would build a synagogue there if it were up to him, Ben-Gvir finally replied: “Yes.”
Under the status quo maintained for decades by Israeli authorities, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound in occupied East Jerusalem during specific hours but are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.
Ben-Gvir has also been criticized by some Orthodox Jews, who consider the site too holy for Jews to enter. According to leading rabbis, it is forbidden for any Jew to enter any part of Al-Aqsa because of its holiness.
In recent years, restrictions imposed on the complex have been increasingly violated by hardline religious nationalists like Ben-Gvir, sometimes leading to clashes with Palestinians.
The campaign to build a “Third Temple” at Al-Aqsa, once considered a fringe movement, is growing in Israel, with many Palestinians seeing parallels to what happened in Hebron, where the Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Tomb 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, prompting harsh condemnation.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is administered by Jordan, but access to the site is controlled by Israeli security forces.
Ben-Gvir told Army Radio that Jews should be allowed to pray on the premises.
“Arabs can pray wherever they want, so Jews should be able to pray wherever they want,” he said, claiming that “current policy allows Jews to pray in this place.”
Several ultra-Orthodox Jewish politicians have previously denounced Ben-Gvir's attempts to encourage Jewish prayer at Al-Aqsa.
One of them, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, previously called Ben-Gvir's comments on the issue “blasphemy,” adding that “the ban on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount is the position of all the great men of Israel for generations.”
'Dangerous'
Jordan responded to Ben-Gvir's latest comments.
“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 “is preparing the necessary legal files to take action in 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 was “no change” in the current policy.
“Questioning 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 told 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 to be touched at all.”
Hamas, with which Israel is engaged in a bitter war in the Gaza Strip, called the minister's comments “dangerous” and called on Arab and Islamic countries “to take responsibility for protecting holy sites.”
Egypt's Foreign Ministry has called on Israel to fulfil its obligations as an occupying power and stop provocative statements aimed at raising tensions, Egyptian media outlet Ahram Online reported.
“These statements obstruct 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 question, 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 came 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 be openly praying in defiance of the rules of the status quo.
