National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount on Sunday, where he said he felt like the “owner” of the site and stated that he would continue pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to expand greater access for Jewish worshippers.
The far Right minister’s visit to the Temple Mount drew condemnation from Jordan. Ben-Gvir made the visit alongside Temple Mount Yeshiva head Rabbi Elisha Wolfson.
In a video of the two of them at the site, Ben-Gvir said that when he visited the Temple Mount in his youth, “they wouldn’t stop shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and surrounding us, and if a Jew even muttered something, he would be arrested.”
“Today, I feel like the owner of the place here,” Ben-Gvir said.
He continued that “there is still more to do” and that he would not stop “pushing the prime minister to do more and more and more things. We must continue to go higher and higher.”
Wolfson said that Ben-Gvir was making an “enormous historic change” at the Temple Mount.
“It must be understood, this is not just a change for those who ascend the Temple Mount, it is a change for the entire people of Israel who have been waiting 2,000 years,” Wolfson added.
Ben-Gvir regularly visits Temple Mount during Jewish holidays, says status quo no longer exists
The far Right minister frequently visits the Temple Mount during Jewish holidays and has stated in the past that the status quo there no longer exists.
The Prime Minister’s Office often clarifies that Israel’s policy on the Temple Mount has not changed, though such an announcement was not made on Sunday by press time.
The status quo on the Temple Mount, established after 1967, allows Israel to oversee security while the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf administers the site. Non-Muslims, including Jews, may visit during limited hours but are strictly prohibited from praying there.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said it considered Ben-Gvir’s visit a violation of the status quo agreement at the site and “a desecration of its sanctity, a condemnable escalation and an unacceptable provocation.”
The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said such actions could further destabilize the region.
Ben-Gvir’s spokesman said the minister was seeking greater access and prayer permits for Jewish visitors. He also said that Ben-Gvir had prayed at the site.
Hamas denounces Ben-Gvir's visit, calls for Islamic Ummah to 'defend the prophet's site, stop desecration, Judaization of al-Aqsa'
Hamas referred to the event as "Zionist extremist Ben-Gvir's repeated incursion into the courtyards of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque."
The latest visit "confirms the intentions and determination of the criminal occupation government to implement its Judaization projects, and also reflects a full support for the plans of the terrorist settler groups," the Gazan terror group wrote on Telegram.
"We call upon the Arab and Islamic Ummah to defend the site of their Prophet [al-Aqsa Mosque] and to pressure the occupation to stop its desecration of al-Aqsa and Judaization plans. We also demand the international community to assume its responsibilities regarding these flagrant assaults," the terror group wrote.
Last week, Ben-Gvir toured the Temple Mount with Home Front Command officials, calling for the site to be opened to more worshippers amid wartime restrictions limiting access.
The visits have consistently drawn international condemnation and criticism from regional figures.
During Sukkot, Ben-Gvir ascended the Temple Mount, prompting Hamas to condemn the move as “an aggressive message” that reinforces the division of the site and reflects plans to “impose occupation control on it.”
James Genn contributed to this report.