Ben Gvir appearance at Damascus Gate could spark regional conflict — minister

Public Security Minister Omer Barlev says allowing firebrand MK Itamar Ben Gvir to attend a nationalist marc at Jerusalem’s Old City would be risking a “regional conflagration.”

Ben Gvir’s appearance “is a provocation liable to quicken the security deterioration,” he says in a Facebook post, noting that he asked Bennett to bar Ben Gvir.

“Just him showing up would endanger the country’s security and force the police, already stretched thin in order to continue safeguarding order and security, to shift resources to tasks not needed at this time.”

Earlier, an unnamed security official told Kan news that Ben Gvir showing up could spark another war in Gaza and rockets on Jerusalem.

“We are seeing the same indicators there were before” last year’s Gaza war, the source said.

That war began when Hamas shot rockets at Jerusalem during a nationalist flag march through the Old City attended by Ben Gvir following days of tensions over the Temple Mount.