A handout picture courtesy of Minhelet Har-Habait (Temple Mount Administration) shows Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (left) walking through the courtyard of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque complex, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, early on May 21, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)
CAIRO – Egypt and Jordan on Sunday condemned Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Jerusalem.
"Such provocative behavior is inconsistent with the wisdom and responsibility of officials," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, escorted by heavy police presence and the internal security agency Shin Bet, visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, holy to both Muslims and Jews
Egypt also called on Israel to immediately stop the escalating practices that fuel the tensions in the occupied territories of Palestine.
Ben-Gvir's visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which was made under the protection of Israeli forces, is a provocative step and a grave violation that leads to escalation, Jordanian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Sinan Al-Majali said in a statement.
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The visit breaches international law and the historical and legal status quo of Jerusalem and its holy sites, he added, demanding Israel immediately cease all violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque and respect its sanctity.
Al-Majali also stressed the need for Israel to stop all measures aimed at changing the existing historical and legal status quo of Jerusalem and its holy sites and to respect the authority of the Jerusalem Waqf, a Jordanian body in charge of the compound since 1948.
Earlier in the day, Ben-Gvir, escorted by heavy police presence and the internal security agency Shin Bet, visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, holy to both Muslims and Jews.
The Israeli minister said he was glad to come up to the compound and thanked the police officers at the site.
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The visit came days after the Flag March, an annual march by tens of thousands of Israeli nationalists to mark the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem.
Israel gained control of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war and occupied it despite international criticism.