Tuesday, amid fears of turmoil, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, prompting calls for a UN Security Council meeting from the United Arab Emirates and China.
The Council is scheduled to meet on Thursday, according to diplomats.
The visit prompted harsh criticism from all across the world, and the US, Israel’s closest ally, expressed grave worry about the current situation.
We are concerned about actions that could increase tensions. We want to see tensions decrease. Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department, made these statements.
The United States is adamantly in favor of maintaining the historic status quo regarding Jerusalem’s sacred sites.
Any unilateral acts undermining the status quo, he continued, are “unacceptable.”
The third-holiest place in the world according to Muslims is Al-Aqsa. Jews refer to the region as the Temple Mount and claim that two Jewish temples formerly stood there.
Al-Aqsa Mosque was occupied by Israel in East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The international community never acknowledged the annexation of the entire city in 1980.
The Jordanian-funded waqf has managed the site since 1967, while Israel has had security control. According to a long-standing agreement, only Muslims are allowed to pray at the site, and non-Muslim visitors are only allowed during certain hours.
In the course of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israel conquered East Jerusalem, which includes the Aal-Aqsa Mosque.
The international community never acknowledged the annexation of the entire city in 1980.