GAZA: Palestine has condemned Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's remarks about building a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Palestinian people will not accept any harm to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is a red line that cannot be allowed to be tampered with at all, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, said on Monday in a press statement released by the official news agency WAFA.
Abu Rudeineh said that Ben-Gvir attempted to drag the region into "a religious war that will burn everyone, " calling on the international community, especially the US administration, to take immediate action to rein in the right-wing Israeli government and force it to abide by the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, holds sacred significance for both Muslims and Jews and has long been a flashpoint for deadly violence between the two sides.
Under the status quo, non-Muslim worshippers may visit the site in the heart of the Old City but are not allowed to pray there.
In remarks to Israeli Army Radio earlier on Monday, Ben-Gvir said that "Jews can pray on the Temple Mount, " adding that under his term as the Minister of National Security, there will be no discrimination between Jews and Muslims.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a press statement that "there is no change in the status quo in the Temple Mount".
"If I could do anything I wanted, I would put an Israeli flag on the site, " Ben-Gvir said in an interview.
Asked several times by a journalist if he would build a synagogue at the site if it were up to him, Ben-Gvir finally replied: "Yes."
Since taking office in December 2022, Ben-Gvir, as National Security Minister, has visited the 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 Israeli 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".