Five prominent Israeli rabbis condemn provocative settler incursion into al-Aqsa Mosque
Five senior Israeli rabbis have deplored a recent settler incursion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds, highlighting a longstanding ban on Jewish prayers at the holy site.
In a joint video statement released on Wednesday, the rabbis based in al-Quds slammed “radical fringes,” a day after thousands of Israeli settlers, joined by far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the complex.
Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef emphasized that extremist ministers like Ben-Gvir do not represent Israelis.
“I call on the nations of the world, do not see those ... ministers as representing the people of Israel,” he said. “Please calm things down… We mustn’t let radical fringes lead us.”
During his provocative visit, Ben-Gvir said that it was his “policy” to allow Jewish prayers on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third-holiest site where only Muslims are allowed to pray under a status quo arrangement originally reached more than a century ago.
Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl also said, “It is strictly forbidden to enter the Temple Mount," referring to the name used by the Jews for the holy site.
Meanwhile, Rabbi David Cohen denounced “thugs in religious garb who only inflame tensions.”
Tuesday’s intrusion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound also drew condemnations from the United Nations, as well as Muslim countries and Western powers, including the US and the European Union.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office criticized Ben-Gvir’s visit as a “deviation from the status quo” at the scared site.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said it was "provocation to the feelings of Muslims all over the world."
"Minister Ben Gvir, instead of maintaining the status quo at the mosque, is supervising the Judaisation operation and trying to change the situation inside al-Aqsa Mosque," an official from the Waqf, the Jordanian body that oversees the site, told AFP.
The recent violation of the al-Aqsa Mosque's sanctity came at a time when more than 10 months of a genocidal Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip has exposed the terrorist nature of the occupying regime to the world.
In his Tuesday's remarks, Ben-Gvir renewed his opposition to any ceasefire in Gaza.
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