UN, EU calls Ben Gvir's Temple Mount prayer 'unduly provocative'

The United Nations denounces far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for leading prayers at the flashpoint Temple Mount compound, calling the move “unduly provocative.”

“We are against any efforts to change the status quo within the holy sites,” says deputy spokesman Farhan Haq. “Al-Aqsa mosque, like the other holy sites in Jerusalem, should be left to themselves and should be controlled by the existing religious authorities for the sites. This sort of behavior is unhelpful and it is unduly provocative.”

“The EU strongly condemns the provocations by Israeli Minister Ben Gvir who, during his visit to the Holy Sites, advocated for the violation of the status quo,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweets.