JERUSALEM/ANKARA

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir forced his way Wednesday along with illegal settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem, marking a new provocation amid the war on the Gaza Strip, an official with the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem told Anadolu.

Ben-Gvir entered the flashpoint site under heavy police protection and toured the mosque’s courtyard days before the Jewish Passover holiday from April 12-20.

The extremist minister was accompanied by more than 24 illegal settlers during his tour, the official added.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry denounced Ben-Gvir’s intrusion as "a deliberate provocation" and a violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque's "established historical and legal status quo."

It stressed that Israel has “no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites."

The Saudi Foreign Ministry decried Israel’s “continued blatant attacks on the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque" and “continued violations of international law” and reiterated its “categorical rejection of anything that harms the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.”

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry also slammed Ben-Gvir’s intrusion as a “provocation of the sentiments of Muslims all around the world.”

It stressed the illegality and illegitimacy of any Israeli measures regarding Al-Aqsa Mosque, “which is an exclusive worship place for Muslims.”

Qatar condemned, “in the strongest terms, the storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque…and the expulsion of worshippers from it.”

The Foreign Ministry reiterated its “unwavering position on the justice of the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, including the full right to practice their religious rituals without restrictions and to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Ben-Gvir, calling it a “flagrant violation of international law and a provocation to millions of Muslims around the world.”

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also strongly condemned the Israeli raid in a statement, describing the act as "a provocation to the sentiments of Muslims around the world and a flagrant violation of relevant United Nations resolutions.”

The president of the Arab Parliament, Mohamed Al-Yammahi, also issued a strong condemnation of Ben-Gvir’s incursion, terming it as "provocative and inciting toward the feelings of millions of Muslims worldwide and a clear disregard for the international community, international law, and the resolutions of international legitimacy."​​​​​​​

In a separate statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said "the international community’s tolerance of such serious violations of international law and its obligations toward Israel as an occupying power have become a form of cover that encourages the occupation to continue targeting Jerusalem and its Christian and Islamic holy sites and to intensify its defiance of international legitimacy and the global will for peace."

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas decried the raid as “a dangerous escalation as part of the (Israeli) genocidal war against the Palestinian people."

It called on Palestinians to escalate confrontations with the Israeli army in defense of the holy site and urged the OIC and the Arab League to "take effective actions" to stop Israel's systematic violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The intrusion was the sixth by the far-right minister into the Al-Aqsa complex since he joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in 2022.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli authorities have imposed strict measures limiting Palestinians’ access from the occupied West Bank to East Jerusalem.

Palestinians consider these restrictions as part of Israel’s broader efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, and erase its Arab and Islamic identity.

Since 2003, Israel has allowed illegal settlers into the flashpoint compound on an almost daily basis, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.