Palestine warns upcoming Israeli gov’t against altering Jerusalem status quo

By Awad al-Rujoub and Zain Khalil

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Palestine on Sunday warned the upcoming Israeli government against changing the status quo in occupied East Jerusalem.

Extremist politician Itamar Ben-Gvir will be Israel’s national security minister in the upcoming government under a coalition agreement struck with Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir deal gives him massive powers to practice his extremist and racist policies and agenda, including conducting widespread and radical changes to the existing historical and legal status quo at the holy site,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Making any changes to the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque is a direct threat that will blow up the conflict across the entire region," the ministry warned.

The statement called on the international community to remain cautious about the dangers posed by Israeli settler intrusions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Early on Sunday, the Jordan-run Jerusalem Endowment Department said dozens of Israeli settlers stormed the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.

Ben-Gvir holds far-right views on the Palestinians. He has repeatedly joined Israeli settlers in storming the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.

He had previously called for the displacement of Palestinians and caused a wave of escalation in East Jerusalem after setting up an office in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Earlier this month, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a leaked audio that "the whole world is worried" about the far-right views of Ben-Gvir.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third holiest site. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the “Temple Mount”, claiming it had been the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara