Zionist minister says would build synagogue at Al-Aqsa compound
JERUSALEM: A far-right Zionist minister sparked fresh outrage on Monday by saying he would build a synagogue at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound if he could, once again challenging government policy. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir told Army Radio that if it were possible he would build a synagogue at the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The Al-Aqsa 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 second temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. “If I could do anything I wanted, I would put a (Zionist) flag on the site,” Ben Gvir said in the interview.
Asked several times by the journalist if he would build a synagogue at the site if it were up to him, Ben Gvir finally replied: “Yes.” Under the status quo maintained by Zionist authorities, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound in Zionist-annexed east Jerusalem during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.
In recent years, the restrictions at the compound have been increasingly flouted. Since taking office in December 2022, Ben Gvir, as national security minister has visited the disputed holy site at least six times, drawing severe condemnations. The Al-Aqsa mosque compound is administered by Jordan, but access to the site itself is controlled by Zionist 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, claiming that the “current policy allows Jews to pray at this site”. Jordan hit back at 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 the attacks on the holy sites” and “is preparing the necessary legal files to take action in international courts against the attacks on the holy sites,” Qudah said. — AFP