Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s minister of national security, paid a Tisha B’av pilgrimage to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Thursday.
The Jewish people’s tragedies, particularly the destruction of the First and Second Temples that were located on the Mount, are remembered on the yearly fast day.
The leader of the Otzma Yehudit Party stated, “This is the most important place for the people of Israel, where we have to go back and show our rule.”
Ben-Gvir told Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, in advance of his decision to ascend to the Temple Mount, his third trip to the holiest place in Judaism this year.
“It is crucial to always keep in mind that we are all brothers, especially on this day and in this place. Left, right, spiritual, secular.
All of us are the same, remarked Ben-Gvir. “And a terrorist does not distinguish between us or separate us when he stares through the window. In an apparent allusion to the stark splits in Israeli society, he continued, “Unity is necessary, and love of Israel is important.
Ben-Gvir’s visit was opposed by the American embassy in Jerusalem, which stated that the US “stands firmly for the preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem.
Any unilateral action or speech endangering the present order is unacceptable.
The minister’s action was also denounced by Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, which described it as a breach of the status quo that “threatens to escalate the situation into more rounds of violence.
According to the Foreign Ministry of the Palestinian Authority, the visit to the Temple Mount was “an official Israeli cover for the ongoing invasions and the plans to impose forced changes on the existing historical and legal reality, as an inseparable part of the Judaization of Jerusalem.”
It was also “an official Israeli cover for the plans to judaize the Al-Aqsa mosque and the ongoing invasions.” In a statement, Hamas referred to Ben-Gvir’s elevation as a “dangerous escalation” and vowed to “defend the identity of the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque and protect its Islamic and Arab character at all costs.
Amit Halevi of the Likud party and Yitzhak Wasserlauf, minister of the Negev, Galilee, and national resilience, also went.
According to the police, 16 Temple Mount visitors were detained for breaking the law and disobeying orders.
Two people who attempted to interfere with the visits were also detained. Among other limitations, non-Muslims are not permitted to pray on the Temple Mount. Jews are ascending the sacred site in greater numbers despite the prohibitions on their worship.
According to a survey released in February, 20,329 Jews have visited the Temple Mount since the Jewish calendar year began on September 25, 2022, a rise of 16% from the same period the previous year. On average, 140 Jews access the sacred site each day.
The Temple Mount, Israel’s holiest site, is where we are at Tisha B’Av. Throughout their two thousand-year exile, every Jew yearned and begged to get here—to ascend to the Temple Mount.
We will be blessed with the construction of the Temple with God’s assistance, Wasserlauf remarked.
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