News of the World

[kyonides]

Ben Gvir visits Temple Mount for 1st time as minister, despite indicating he’d delay

National security minister says ‘government will not surrender to Hamas’ after terror group warned against his visit; Likud denies Netanyahu asked far-right leader to postpone.

This story took place a week ago, but some groups would not let it pass unnoticed by the UN.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Temple Mount early on Tuesday morning, his first trip to the holy site since taking up his ministerial post last week.

The visit came hours after reports that Ben Gvir had agreed to put off the visit following a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and despite condemnation from the opposition and threats from the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group.

“We maintain freedom of movement for Muslims and Christians, but Jews also go up to the site, and those who make threats must be dealt with with an iron fist,” the minister added at the conclusion of his visit, which reportedly lasted some 15 minutes and passed without immediate incident.

The visit by Ben Gvir, whose ministry is in charge of policing, was held after an assessment with security and police officials, his office said in a statement.

After his meeting with Netanyahu, Ben Gvir met later Monday with Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, as well as Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and the Jerusalem district commander, who “determined there was no obstacle” to the visit, the statement said.
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The Temple Mount is revered by Jews as the historic location of the two Jewish Temples, making it Judaism’s holiest site.
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Labor MK Gilad Kariv said Ben Gvir’s decision showed he was prioritizing the “promotion of an extreme nationalistic worldview” over Israeli citizens’s safety.
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In response, Hamas had warned Israel that Ben Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount would be “a detonator” and vowed resistance.
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His last visit to the Temple Mount was about three months ago, ahead of the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah.

Israel's Ben-Gvir visits Al Aqsa mosque compound, Palestinians incensed

Diplomats said both the United Arab Emirates and China asked the U.N. Security Council to meet publicly to discuss the issue, likely on Thursday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he would seek a Security Council condemnation, a statement published by the Palestinian WAFA News Agency said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "calls on all to refrain from steps that could escalate tensions in and around the holy sites," U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

When asked about the visit, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said any unilateral action that jeopardizes the status quo of Jerusalem holy sites is unacceptable.

 I wonder why China cares so much about the Temple Mount all of a sudden.

US warns Israeli sanctions against PA will ‘exacerbate tensions’

US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Monday condemned the sanctions approved by the Israeli government against the Palestinian Authority over Ramallah’s successful effort to have the International Court of Justice weigh in on Israel’s conduct in the Palestinian territories.

Price referred to the sanctions imposed by Israel as a “unilateral response” that will “exacerbate tensions,” while noting that they were no less problematic in Washington’s eyes than the PA’s pursuit of an ICJ advisory opinion at the UN last month.
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He added that Biden administration officials were discussing the issue with both Israeli and Palestinian officials privately.

The sanctions approved last Friday by Israel’s security cabinet included taking some of the tax revenues Israel collects on behalf of the PA and funneling them to Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism; deducting from the revenues to offset payments the PA makes to Palestinian terrorists, attackers, security prisoners and their families; freezing Palestinian construction in much of the West Bank; and revoking the travel permits of senior Palestinian officials.

The Palestinian Authority prime minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, warned in a rare interview with the Haaretz daily published Monday that the sanctions could spell the PA’s collapse.

He also claimed that Israel was actively profiting from the conflict by charging a monthly commission of NIS 30 million ($8.6 million) deducted from payments for various services provided to the PA.
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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Sunday that he has “no interest” in the PA continuing to exist.

The hardline stance is likely to be a source of tension in Israel’s ties with the US, given the latter’s support for improved Israeli-Palestinian ties. The Biden administration is also concerned about the new government’s plans to expand Israeli presence in the West Bank by building more settlements, legalizing wildcat Israeli outposts and stifling Palestinian expansion in Area C — the 60 percent of the West Bank where Israel is granted temporary security and civilian control under the Oslo Accords.

The Israeli sanctions decision came roughly one week after the UN General Assembly voted to adopt a resolution requesting that the ICJ submit a legal opinion determining whether Israel’s “occupation” of the Palestinians is permanent and recommending steps that should be taken if that is the case.

Haven't the UN and the ICJ ever considered that it could be the Palestinians (mostly Arabs and jordans) the ones who are occupying Israeli territory?  just saying.