Israeli Minister Ben Gvir visit Masjid Al Aqsa, sparks global outrage

Israel’s extreme-right new national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Tuesday. A site that is valued not only by Muslims but Jews as well.  This news has created a lot of buzz around the global.

Ben Gvir referring to the site by its Jewish name said on Twitter, “The Temple Mount is open to everyone and if Hamas thinks that if it threatens me it will deter me, let them understand that times have changed.” This visit has deeply the Palestinians.

Ben Gvir’s actions had been criticized by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE as well. Pakistan’s foreign ministry also issued a statement in support of Palestine.

The statement said, “Pakistan strongly condemns the insensitive and provocative visit of Israeli Minister of National Security to the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.”

It is also added, “Al-Aqsa is a holy site revered by Muslims around the world. Violation of its sanctity offends the religious sensitivities of Muslims and inflames an already tense situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.”

Turkey has also condemned the visit, calling it “provocative.”

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq made a statement saying, “UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls on all to refrain from steps that could escalate tensions in and around the holy sites,”

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group, stated that any violation of the status quo would lead to an outburst in the entire region.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh described this visit by the Israeli Minister as “raids onto the compound” and accused Ben-Gvir of staging the visit as a step towards turning the Holy shrine “into a Jewish temple”.