Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount compound Tuesday was not only condemned by the United States, the European Union and the Arab world as a dangerous provocation at an especially sensitive moment for the potential deal between Israel and Hamas, it is also generating harsh criticism from ultra-Orthodox leaders.
The Temple Mount compound, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, is Judaism’s holiest site where, according to tradition, two Jewish temples were located. But the compound is also home to Islam’s third holiest site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The hotly-contested site has been under Israeli control and, according to Israeli law, under Israeli jurisdiction since the 1967 Six-Day War. The compound itself is managed by the Islamic custodian Waqf organization, which is under Jordanian control.
When Israel took control of the site, it agreed to preserve the 1967 Status Quo Agreement, which identifies specific hours when Jews are allowed to enter. This arrangement prohibits Jews from praying at the place or engaging in any religious gestures. Yet over the years there have been several attempts by nationalist Jews to violate the agreement either by praying there, bringing goats in attempts to sacrifice them at the site for Passover, like in ancient times, or performing marriage vows at the site.
Source of provocation