A file photo shows Israel’s minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (2nd L) forcing his way into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under police protection in East al-Quds.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has strongly condemned Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s incursion into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, calling it a "dangerous escalation" and a war crime.
Ben-Gvir, along with illegal settlers, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East al-Quds on Wednesday in a new provocation amid the ongoing war on Gaza.
In a statement, Hamas decried the raid as “a dangerous escalation as part of the [Israeli] genocidal war against the Palestinian people.”
It called on the Palestinians to escalate confrontations with the Israeli army in defense of the holy site.
The efforts by “the terrorist regime led by the war criminal Netanyahu [aims] to Judaize the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and impose a fait accompli on the holy city,” said Hamas.
“We call on our Palestinian people and our rebellious youth in the West Bank to escalate the situation of engagement with this arrogant enemy everywhere in defense of our land and holy sites,” the statement read.
Elsewhere in the statement, the Palestinian resistance group called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League to “take effective actions” to stop Israel’s systematic violations against the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The incursion was the sixth by the Israeli minister into the noble sanctuary of al-Aqsa since he joined Netanyahu’s regime in 2022.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry condemned the visit by Ben-Gvir, lambasting him for "storming" the area.
Riyadh voiced its "strongest condemnation of the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque" by the Israeli minister under the protection of occupation police, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Separately, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the move “could worsen the already deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, with catastrophic impacts on regional security and stability.”
The ministry emphasized that Israel’s attempts “will not change the legal and historical situation” or the fact that occupied East al-Quds remains part of Palestinian territory under international law.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry also denounced Ben-Gvir’s incursion as “a deliberate provocation” and a violation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s “established historical and legal status quo.”
The ministry stressed that Israel has “no sovereignty over occupied al-Quds and its Islamic and Christian holy sites.”
For decades, a delicate status quo has governed worship and visits to the site, permitting only Muslims to pray in its courtyards and prayer halls.
The latest incursion came after the Israeli minister of military affairs announced a significant expansion of ground offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel Katz said large parts of the strip are set to be occupied, and large-scale evacuations of Palestinians will be enforced.
The Israeli military has already issued evacuation warnings to Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis. In response to these plans, Palestinians in Gaza have pledged to stand steadfast amid the Israeli aggression.
