Worshippers gather at Al-Aqsa compound, on Eid al-Fitr, in April this year. File picture
A far-right Israeli minister prayed with thousands of Jews at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem Tuesday, defying a ban on Jewish prayer at the flashpoint site and drawing global condemnation.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has often ignored the Israeli government's longstanding ban, vowed to "defeat Hamas" in Gaza in a video he filmed during his visit.
The compound is Islam's third holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian national identity, but it is also Judaism's holiest place, revered as the site of the ancient temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
While Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem during specified hours, they are not permitted to pray or display religious symbols.
The visit comes at a tense time during the 10-month Israel-Hamas war, with faltering efforts for a ceasefire and Israel braced for threatened attacks from Iran and its proxies.
Ben Gvir's latest visit drew sharp condemnation from both Muslim countries as well as Western powers, including the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.
The EU condemned "provocations" by Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir after officials said he performed prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem.
"The United States stands firmly for preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites of Jerusalem and any unilateral action, which this would be..., that jeopardizes such a status quo is unacceptable," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
The United Nations denounced Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir for leading prayers at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, calling the move "unduly provocative."
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom's condemnation in the strongest terms of the blatant and repeated stormings by Israeli occupation officials and several settlers into the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque.
Jordan's foreign ministry condemned the "storming" of the mosque, calling it a "flagrant violation of international law".
France's foreign ministry condemned Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for defying a longstanding ban on Jewish prayer at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem, calling it an unacceptable "provocation".
- Reckless move: Arab League
The Arab League condemned in the strongest terms the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers led by two ministers, considering that these extremists are pushing matters to the brink of the abyss, and are deliberately provoking the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an umbrella group of Muslim-majority states, "strongly condemned" the incident and said it was a "provocation to the feelings of Muslims all over the world".
