From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 2, 2023
‘People will die’: Lapid tells Netanyahu he must stop Ben Gvir’s planned Temple Mount visit
Carrie Keller-Lynn is a former political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel
Regarding National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s declared intention to visit Jerusalem’s Temple Mount in the near future, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the far-right politician “must not go” to the holy site, which has long served as a focus of conflict with the Palestinians.
“Itamar Ben Gvir must not go up to Temple Mount,” says Lapid. “It is a deliberate provocation that will put lives in danger and cost lives.”
“Weak though Netanyahu is, he must, this time, stand up and tell him, You are not going to the Temple Mount. People will die,” Lapid adds.
“MKs go up, ministers don’t,” Lapid adds in response to reporter questions at the outset of his Yesh Atid party’s Knesset faction meeting. “It will be viewed by the whole world as breaking the status quo, even if it’s not.”
Judaism’s holiest site and Islam’s third holiest, only Muslims are allowed to pray at the Temple Mount while others are allowed to visit under strict restrictions, under a sensitive status quo.
The Times of Israel Community.