Israeli far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir storms the compound of al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East al-Quds on August 13, 2024, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. (Photo via Reuters)
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has decried the latest incursion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israel’s far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying that it is aimed at inciting a “religious war” at the holy site.
“The intrusion of the extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir, the so-called National Security Minister, into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and his conducting of a provocative tour in its compound … represents a blatant challenge and disregard for the feelings of Muslims and for the sanctity and status of al-Aqsa in the Islamic world,” Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday.
The movement stressed that the “repeated” violations confirm the arrogance of this extremist government and its insistence on fueling a religious war.”
“We warn against the increasing incursions by settlers and their performance of Talmudic rituals within the al-Aqsa compound,” the statement said.
Hamas vowed that the Palestinian people will continue to defend the al-Aqsa Mosque and confront the Israeli plots to judaize and divide al-Aqsa.
The group also urged the free people in the Muslim and Arab nations to stand in support of al-Aqsa, amid the escalating incursions.
Earlier in the day, Ben-Gvir and a group of Israeli settlers stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East al-Quds and performed religious rituals in the courtyard.
Ben-Gvir has repeatedly stormed the compound of the third-holiest site for Muslims since joining the Israeli cabinet in 2022.
Under an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government in the wake of the regime’s occupation of al-Quds in 1967, non-Muslim worship at the holy compound is prohibited. But the ban is a mere phrase, and, in action, circumstances have been against Muslims.
The latest provocative acts by Israel came as the regime continues its bloody war machine in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 55,000 Palestinians.
