A hard-right Israeli minister sparked fury by praying at a disputed holy site in Jerusalem.
By decades-old agreement, Jews can visit the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa mosque, but not pray there. Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has been convicted of supporting terrorism and is subject to several foreign travel bans, led 1,250 Jews in prayer there, while calling for Israel to “conquer the entire Gaza Strip.”
Jordan and Saudi Arabia condemned the visit, which one leading Israeli analyst said aimed to scupper a potential Gaza ceasefire deal. And while the Israeli government reiterated its support for the status quo over the Temple Mount, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu relies on Ben-Gvir’s party to maintain his slim parliamentary majority.