Ben Gvir visits Temple Mount, urges PM ‘not to fold’ under pressure to OK hostage deal
Far-right minister says he prayed for hostages’ release, appearing to hint he still aims to change status quo at flashpoint holy site that bars Jewish prayer; Jordan slams visit
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir made his latest trip to the flashpoint Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Thursday, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “not to fold” on a hostage deal with Hamas.
Speaking in a video with the Dome of the Rock behind him, the far-right minister said that he had come “to the most important place for the State of Israel, for the Jewish people, to pray for the hostages to return home — but without a reckless deal, without surrender.”
“I am praying and am also working hard so that the prime minister will have the strength not to fold and to go on to victory: to add military pressure, to stop their fuel [from entering Gaza] — to win,” he declared.
Ben Gvir has repeatedly threatened to bolt the coalition if Netanyahu signs a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas that ends the fighting in Gaza — without first crushing the terror group — in exchange for the release of the 120 remaining captives held in the Strip, which includes 116 captured on October 7, as well as two civilians and the bodies of two IDF soldiers held there for around a decade.
International mediators continue to push Israel and Hamas toward the current proposal, which was initially floated by Israel and promoted by US President Joe Biden at the end of May. The proposal calls for a three-phase deal that would see Israel withdraw from Gaza in return for the hostages and the release of hundreds of Palestinian security inmates held in Israeli prisons.
Ben Gvir’s comments also appeared to serve as a sign to Netanyahu that he has not given up on changing a longstanding status quo at the contested Jerusalem holy site, which is the holiest site in Judaism as the historic location of the two Temples, and the third-holiest to Muslims, who refer to it as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or the Noble Sanctuary.
The vague status quo governing the compound allows Muslims to pray and enter with few restrictions, while non-Muslims, including Jews, can visit only during limited time slots via a single gate, with visibly religious Jews only allowed to walk on a predetermined route, closely accompanied by police. While Jews are not officially allowed to pray, police have increasingly tolerated limited prayer.
Many Palestinians and Muslims reject the very notion that the Temple Mount is holy to Jews, having accused Israel and Zionists for around a century of secretly conspiring to destroy the mosque and replace it with a Jewish temple — a notion that is rejected by mainstream Israeli society.
The Temple Mount has been the scene of frequent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces, and tensions at the disputed compound have fueled past rounds of violence.
Last month, Ben Gvir announced that as far as he was concerned, Jewish prayer was now allowed on the Temple Mount — prompting a quick rebuff from Netanyahu’s office, which said the status quo was unchanged.
Blasting Ben Gvir after his Thursday visit, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel of the Shas coalition party said in a statement that “the day will come when the era of Ben Gvir’s trolling will pass. The Torah will never be replaced.”
The Haredi politician was citing the religious opinion of the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate that due to the destroyed Jewish Temples’ Holy of Holies being located on the Temple Mount, Jewish people should not enter the compound at all.
Shas and Otzma Yehudit were recently involved in a public spat that caused a still-ongoing coalition crisis.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry accused Ben Gvir of “violating the sanctity” of the site, which it maintained was “a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law and the existing historical and legal situation in Jerusalem.”
Amman views itself as a custodian of the Temple Mount and Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian sites — a status Israel does not recognize, though it acknowledged the kingdom’s “special role” at the site in the countries’ peace treaty.
Jordan in 1994 became the second Arab country to recognize and sign a peace treaty with neighboring Israel, after Egypt. Amman regularly puts out condemnations when Israeli officials visit the Temple Mount, viewing such visits as violating the status quo.
Jordanian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sufyan Qudah claimed that the entire compound was a purely Muslim site, arguing that Israel has no sovereignty over Jerusalem or its holy sites.
Ben Gvir, who heads the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, is an ardent proponent of greater Jewish access to the Temple Mount and has made several visits to the site during his tenure as minister.
A video posted to X during his last visit in May showed Jewish members of Ben Gvir’s entourage praying there, which many saw as inflammatory.
Ben Gvir’s past offenses cause shelving of anti-terror bill
Meanwhile, the Kan public broadcaster reported Wednesday evening that the government had shelved plans to pass legislation to prevent those convicted of terror offenses from running for the Knesset, amid concerns it could impact Ben Gvir too.
According to the report, hardline Likud MK Nissim Vaturi on Sunday proposed the legislation, which aims to prevent anyone who has ever been involved in terrorist activity from seeking a Knesset seat, regardless of the severity of their punishment.
The proposal apparently received the support of Justice Minister Yariv Levin and other ministers.
The outlet said legal advisers noted, however, that the law would also include Jewish Israelis who were convicted of terror, and an aide to Ben Gvir realized that the legislation could therefore impact the minister.
The aide reportedly recommended postponing the proposal for a few months, and Levin agreed that the discussion of the law could wait until the Knesset’s next session in the fall.
In 2008, the Jerusalem District Court convicted Ben Gvir of incitement to racism and supporting a terror organization over a placard he held reading “Arabs out” following a Palestinian terror attack in Jerusalem and anti-Arab signs he had in his car that referred to the far-right Kach movement, a Jewish group that was banned as a terror organization.
Ben Gvir has been indicted dozens of times, mostly for disturbing the peace, though he was exonerated in almost all the cases.
