Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of Israelis into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem Tuesday and performed prayers marking a Jewish holiday, sources said. Ben Gvir, who has often defied the Israeli government's longstanding ban on Jewish prayer at the mosque compound, vowed to "defeat Hamas" in Gaza in a video he filmed during his visit. The compound is Islam's third holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian national identity but it is also Judaism's holiest place, revered as the site of the ancient temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
While Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem during specified hours, they are not permitted to pray or display religious symbols. In recent years, the restrictions have been increasingly flouted by hardline religious nationalists like Ben Gvir, prompting sometimes violent reactions from Palestinians. On Tuesday morning, Ben Gvir and some 2,250 other Israelis walked through the compound in groups, singing Jewish hymns under the protection of Israeli police, an official from the Waqf, the Jordanian body that is custodian of the site, told AFP.
"Minister Ben Gvir, instead of maintaining the status quo at the mosque is supervising the Judaisation operation and trying to change the situation inside Al-Aqsa mosque," the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the issue. Israeli police also "imposed.