JERUSALEM, July 23 (Reuters) – Israeli far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Thursday, praising Jewish visitors he \u200bsaid had prayed at the site in breach of arrangements \u200cthat allow only Muslim prayer there.<\/p>\n
His visit drew condemnation from Jordan and Palestinian officials.<\/p>\n
Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n The compound in Jerusalem’s walled Old City is one of the most sensitive sites \u200bin the Middle East. Known to Jews as Temple Mount, \u200bit is the most sacred site in Judaism and is \u2060Islam’s third-holiest site.<\/p>\n Under a delicate, decades-old arrangement with Muslim authorities, it \u200bis administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and Jews can visit but \u200bmay not pray there.<\/p>\n Suggestions that Israel would alter the rules have sparked outrage among Muslims and ignited violence in the past.<\/p>\n There was no immediate sign of unrest on \u200bThursday after Ben-Gvir’s visit on Tisha B’Av, a day of fasting \u200band lament in Judaism mourning the destruction of the ancient Jewish temples.<\/p>\n “On Tisha B’Av \u200cwe \u2060mark the destruction. But we also see huge progress on the Temple Mount. Look at what’s happening here \u2013 Jews praying, feeling like they’re the owners of the place. This has never happened before,” Ben-Gvir said \u200bin a video, \u200bwhich appeared to \u2060show one Jewish visitor bowing in prayer.<\/p>\n Jordan’s foreign ministry and the Palestinian religious affairs ministry both condemned Ben-Gvir’s \u200bvisit, which they said violated the status-quo agreements.<\/p>\n Jordan \u200bsaid Ben-Gvir’s \u2060visit was “a desecration of the sanctity of the mosque, an escalation, a barbaric act, and unacceptable provocation.”<\/p>\n There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office. \u2060Previous such \u200bvisits and statements by Ben-Gvir have prompted \u200bannouncements from Netanyahu saying that there is no change in Israel’s policy of keeping the \u200bstatus quo.<\/p>\n Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Lina Obeid, Editing by William Maclean<\/p>\n Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n