Israeli far-right minister leads incursion of Al-Aqsa compound
Al JazeeraThe visit comes as some hardline Israeli Jewish settlers promote the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has led a group of more than one thousand ultranationalist settlers to the Al-Aqsa compound in occupied East Jerusalem, his third such entrance to the site this year. The provocative minister’s entrance to the holy site on Thursday took place as Jews observed Tisha B’Av, a fast day mourning the destruction of two ancient Jewish temples. The visit comes as some hardline Israeli Jewish groups promote the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound – one of the holiest sites in Islam and a Palestinian national symbol – and the construction of a third Jewish temple in its place. “We reaffirm our longstanding US position in support of the historic status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites, and we underline Jordan’s special role in Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem,” Patel said.