Berlin condemns Temple Mount visits, says status quo under jeopardy

Germany joins international condemnation of a visit by two Israeli ministers to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, saying it expects the Israeli government to halt deliberate provocations at the flashpoint holy site, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

“We reject unilateral steps that jeopardize the historical status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem,” the Foreign Ministry in Berlin posts on social media platform X, a day after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and fellow minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf visited the compound and claimed Jews could pray there, despite a status quo arrangement prohibiting Jewish services at the site.

“We expect the Israeli government to stop such deliberate provocations,” the statement adds, warning that the actions could set the region in flames.