Mideast Powers Warn Israel Not to Touch Al-Aqsa as Palestinians Warn of ‘Full-Scale Religious War’
© AP Photo / Leo Correa
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Netanyahu coalition member and Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir succeeded in whipping up regional tensions on Monday by saying that he would "put an Israeli flag" at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound - Islam's third most holy site, and build a synagogue there if he had the authority.
Muslim countries across the Middle East, including its top three economic, political powers Iran, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia have lashed out Itamar Ben-Gvir over his inflammatory comments on building a synagogue at Al-Aqsa.
“The cabinet of the criminal Zionist regime is seeking to implement its sinister plans regarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque, to the extent that it shamelessly declares its evil intention to build a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani wrote in an X post late Tuesday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns such statements and schemes, and warns against any infringement on the sacred boundaries of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and new provocations by the Zionists crossing the red lines of the Islamic World,” Kanaani added. “Muslims and freedom-loving people around the world are united in their calls to support Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to prosecute the criminal Zionists,” the spokesman warned.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned Ben-Gvir’s comments as a threat to regional and global stability, dubbing them a “new and extremely dangerous example of Israel’s efforts to change the status and identity of Jerusalem and the holy sites in Jerusalem.”
”These statements have caused outrage in the Islamic World and alarmed everyone with common sense. Provocations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a holy place belonging exclusively to Muslims, offend the feelings of Muslims and cause tensions all over the world…It is time for the international community to take action to stop Israeli aggression and protect the Palestinian people,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
Saudi Arabia also blasted Tel Aviv over Ben-Gvir's remarks, with the Gulf nation’s Foreign Ministry condemining "the statement made by a minister in the Israeli occupation government,” and categorically rejecting such “extremist and provocative” sentiments. Riyadh called on the world to push for an end to the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the Palestinian territories.
A Palestinian Authority spokesman condemned Ben-Gvir’s comments as “dire and dangerous,” calling Al-Aqsa a “red line that cannot be crossed under any circumstances,” and warning that “calls to alter the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque” constitute “attempts to drag the region into a religious war that will burn all.”
The Palestinian Authority called on the international community, including the US, to intervene “to restrain the Israeli extreme right-wing government and compel it to adhere to the prevailing legal and historical status of the holy site.” Ben-Gvir’s comments mark “an explicit and public call to demolish Al-Aqsa and build the alleged temple in its place,” the PA suggested, referring to the controversial theory held by some Israelis that the Biblical Temple of Solomon is situated beneath the 1,300-year-old Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Even Israel and US ally Jordan condemned Ben-Gvir’s remarks, with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi calling on the UN Security Council to take urgent action to rein in Israel.
“We urge the Security Council and all members of the international community to take immediate effective action to stop the illegal Israeli measures that violate the historical and legal status quo at occupied Jerusalem’s holy sites. As the occupying power, Israel is legally responsible for protecting the historical and legal status quo,” Safadi wrote in an X post Tuesday.
“The situation is already explosive. The hate-driven ideology enabling the designs to change the identity of the Mosque will provide the spark. The consequences will be dangerous,” Safadi added.
28 August, 05:40 GMT
Jordan’s king is formally responsible for custodianship over Al-Aqsa and other holy sites in East Jerusalem, with regular clashes between the Israeli military and local Palestinians sparking diplomatic spats between Tel Aviv and Amman.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller paid lip service to its regional allies' concerns, saying the US “strongly opposes” Ben Gvir’s “reckless statements and actions,” claiming that they “only sow chaos and exacerbate tensions at a moment when Israel must stand united against threats from Iran and its proxy terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah.”
