Israel raps Chilean president for Temple Mount visit with Palestinian officials
Foreign Ministry says tour of Jerusalem holy site violated diplomatic procedures, undermines Israeli sovereignty in East Jerusalem
The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday censured the Chilean government after President Sebastian Pinera toured the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City with senior Palestinian officials, a move that Israel said undermined its sovereignty over the eastern part of the capital city.
Pinera’s visit to the Temple Mount on Tuesday was in violation of diplomatic procedures and a previous agreement between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
The Temple Mount is in East Jerusalem, which Israel says is part of its undivided capital and which the Palestinians claim as part of their future state. Israel’s sovereignty over the eastern half of the city is not recognized internationally.
A statement from the Foreign Ministry said the reprimand came at the direction of Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
“The Foreign Ministry views any infringement of Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount as serious and a violation of clear procedures,” the ministry said. “We must distinguish between absolute freedom of worship… and the preservation of our sovereignty over the Temple Mount.”
There was no immediate response from Santiago.
הר הבית בידינו? מי שליווה את נשיא צ'ילה לביקורו שם הם מספר בכירים ושרים פלסטיניים, בהובלת השר לענייני ירושלים ברשות הפלסטינית פאדי אל-הדמי. זה לא מקרה חד פעמי. אם נוציא את מימד האבטחה מהדיון, ישראל איבדה מזמן כל מימד אחר של ריבונות במקום – והגיע הזמן להודות בכך pic.twitter.com/TLpzng7nvw
— Yaron Avraham ירון אברהם (@yaronavraham) June 25, 2019
Pinera arrived on Tuesday for an official three-day official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
He visited the Temple Mount Tuesday with Palestinian Authority Jerusalem Affairs Minister Fadi al-Hadami and other senior officials, according to Hebrew-language media.
The Chilean leader and his wife also visited the Western Wall holy site, where he offered a prayers for peace, and placed prayers in the wall from students at a Chilean-Jewish school.
He also met with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem and visited holy sites in the West Bank city.
The visit by the center-right leader came after Pinera and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Brazil during the inauguration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in early January.
Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it. Most of the international community has never recognized the annexation, though US President Donald Trump’s administration became the first to do so in 2017.
Several dignitaries from the US and other friendly countries have visited the Western Wall with Israeli officials in recent years, which has been held up in Jerusalem as a sign of growing international recognition of Israel’s position.
However, Israeli officials generally avoid accompanying officials to the Temple Mount for fear of upending the sensitive status quo at the flashpoint holy site.
The Times of Israel covers one of the most complicated, and contentious, parts of the world. Determined to keep readers fully informed and enable them to form and flesh out their own opinions, The Times of Israel has gradually established itself as the leading source of independent and fair-minded journalism on Israel, the region and the Jewish world.
We've achieved this by investing ever-greater resources in our journalism while keeping all of the content on our site free.
Unlike many other news sites, we have not put up a paywall. But we would like to invite readers who can afford to do so, and for whom The Times of Israel has become important, to help support our journalism by joining The Times of Israel Community. Join now and for as little as $6 a month you can both help ensure our ongoing investment in quality journalism, and enjoy special status and benefits as a Times of Israel Community member.
comments