Netanyahu’s hard-right government has increasingly undermined the delicate decades-old status-quo at the holy site [Getty]
Israel’s far-right communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, and a group of extremist settlers have stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday in what was the second such provocation at the holy site in less than a week.
The pro-settler minister entered the tunnels below the Western Wall and performed a prayer for Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
“When Israeli soldiers are victorious in all directions, I am reminded of the words of the Midrash [Jewish religious texts]: ‘The gates of Jerusalem will reach to the gates of Damascus’,” he wrote on X.
The move triggered condemnation from Hamas which described it as “dangerous”.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry similarly criticised what it said were the “provocative and escalating” actions by members of the Israeli government.
Jordan administers the Al-Aqsa compound and other Islamic sites in Jerusalem under the terms of its 1994 peace treaty with Israel.
Karhi’s appearance at Al-Aqsa comes just days after the far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the site to mark the Jewish holiday of Hannukah, triggering sharp condemnations from the Palestinian Foreign Ministry and Jordan.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in the Islamic religion and for years has been a flashpoint for tensions between Palestinians and Israelis, significantly being the place that sparked the Second Intifada.
Under a decades-old arrangement, only Muslims are permitted to pray at the site but since the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government in 2022 Israel has been undermining the sensitive status quo with increasing regularity.
An Israeli court ruled in 2022 that it is not unlawful for Jews to pray at the site and it is now becoming increasingly common practice.
Normalising Jewish prayer at Al-Aqsa is a key objective of Jewish fundamentalist groups who advocate for the eventual destruction of the mosque and the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple.
