On the morning of January 3, 2023, Ben Gvir, the leader of the far-right "Jewish Power" party, under heavy security from the Israeli police, stormed the courtyards of the mosque, in an incident that was the first of its kind after he assumed a ministerial portfolio in the recently formed government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, sparking condemning Palestinian, Arab and international reactions, amid calls for the necessity of preserving the status quo in the holy city, and avoiding the outbreak of a religious war in the entire region.
On the morning of January 3, 2023, Ben Gvir, the leader of the far-right "Jewish Power" party, under heavy security from the Israeli police, stormed the mosque's courtyards for a quarter of an hour, in an incident that was the first of its kind after he assumed a ministerial portfolio in the recently formed government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ibn Gvir had previously stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque repeatedly in his personal capacity over the past years, and then as a Knesset member, but it is the first time that he stormed it in his capacity as a minister within Netanyahu's government, which is seen as "the most right-wing government in Israel's history," as he fulfilled his promise during his election campaign. By storming the mosque if he became a minister.
In turn, the official Israeli channel revealed that Ben Gvir's storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque took place in coordination with Netanyahu, after Hebrew media said that the first retracted his step after a call he received from Netanyahu on the night of the storming, in what was described as an " organized deception " according to observers.
On the evening of the day of the raid , Ben Gvir said in an interview with the Israeli Channel 12, "This government does not care about anyone's threats, but we must not tell Hamas everything," claiming that "Jews are being persecuted and denied entry to the Temple Mount, and this is a situation that must change." .
Israeli condemnation and warning
Arab and Western positions condemning Ben Gvir's move extended even to Israeli circles, as Knesset member from the opposition Labor Party, Nehme Lazimi, criticized Itamar Ben Gvir's storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, describing him as a maniac.
And she said in a tweet on his Twitter account: "Ben Gvir proved what we said in the discussions about amending the police law. What matters to him is not national security, but power and control in order to provoke, draw attention, and recruit the police for his political needs," noting that she "does not believe that this maniac Fires is Homeland Security."
For its part, the "United Torah Judaism" bloc, a partner in the government coalition, criticized Ben Gvir, and the " Yated Ne'eman" newspaper, the mouthpiece of the "Degel United Torah" party, which is one of the two parties that make up "United Torah Judaism", said Ben Gvir's move as "unnecessary provocation." It is also "an unacceptable show that poses a danger to the lives of the Jews."
In an article in the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz, writer Zvi Barel warned that Ben Gvir would be responsible for bringing down the Palestinian Authority and putting Israel on an accelerating collision course with the Arab countries with which it concluded peace agreements, not to mention Washington and Western capitals.
He added that Ben Gvir "is determined to foment an uprising named after him, and he will not rest until he drags the Israeli government, the army and all Israelis into a reckless adventure that will turn Israel into a pariah state."
Barrell said, "Ben Gvir is the same one who caused the May 2021 uprising, which affected the cities of the Green Line and resulted in a wave of violence in cities and towns where Arabs and Jews coexist," noting that the first spark for that uprising was protests organized by the far-right Lahava group. And reached the provocations to Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Right-wing agenda
Saeed Bisharat, an expert specializing in Israeli affairs, says that Itamar Ben Gvir is not the one who stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, but rather Netanyahu's new government, as he serves the right-wing agenda of the Israeli Prime Minister, inferring from his words that the raid took place with the approval of Netanyahu, the security system and all official bodies in the occupying country. .
Bisharat explains in his interview with TRT Arabi that the tool was represented by Ibn Ghafir, who carried out the raid because he tolerated flogging and criticism, and he also loves these shows and provocations.
It is believed that the Netanyahu government resorted to this intrusion in order to implement an agenda that it was unable to implement and impose equations through the right-wing formation, stressing the need to build a new strategy from the Palestinians, the resistance and the free people in the world in order to challenge these Israeli provocations and actions, especially in light of the international community’s condemnation of them. .
Bisharat points out that the Netanyahu government, with the help of the right-wing class, whose members were described by one of the rabbis as "donkeys", "will implement another agenda, such as drinking from the water taps in Al-Aqsa - which are forbidden to them - and slaughtering the sacrificial animal and implementing everything they planned for," noting that it is an executive government. You want to resolve controversial issues.
Bisharat asserts that Ben Gvir has "wild" plans other than the incursions, and "therefore the matter will not stop at this point," pointing out that enthusiasm always takes him and pushes him to do everything prohibited.
It is believed that Ben Gvir's future will grow because he implemented his electoral promises and made them a reality, indicating that his star is rising and rising in light of his adoption of populist policies, noting that he "does not rule out becoming prime minister one day."
Religious Zionism
In turn, the expert on Israeli affairs, Adel Shadid, believes that Ben Gvir's storming of Al-Aqsa is part of it to reach positions and satisfy his electoral audience, but he stressed that the matter is greater than that.
In his interview with TRT Arabi, Shadid explains that the raid, according to the Palestinians, is a "deliberate provocation", but from Ben Gvir's point of view is different, indicating that the Jews consider entering Al-Aqsa Mosque a "sacred ascension."
He points out that his incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque is a mistake, considering that it falls within propaganda, showmanship, or provocative considerations, "inasmuch as it represents a new beginning for religious Zionism to translate its project towards Al-Aqsa Mosque."
And he asserts that the Al-Aqsa issue is at the heart of the program of the religious Zionist project, of which Ben Gvir is one of its titles.” It claims that “the Temple was here, and its Al-Aqsa place was built, as it must be demolished and the Temple rebuilt.”
He believes that this incursion will not be the last, but rather a remarkable increase in the coming dates. He also believes that there will be a change in how to enter Al-Aqsa, such as performing prayers and religious rituals inside it, in addition to the settlers wearing clothes with religious symbols in clear contradiction with the so-called status quo in Al-Aqsa.
He points out that the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the "religious Zionism" to which most of the components of the new Israeli government belongs is an important place and is part of its program.
Regarding the political future of Ibn Ghafir, the specialist in Israeli affairs says that the latter is "part of a situation that has developed in the past three decades, and things cannot be returned to their previous state."
Ben Gvir a rogue settler
It is noteworthy that Ben Gvir, born in 1976, drew his extremist ideas from the school of extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, which was classified as a "terrorist and fascist" movement, and was known as "Kahaniism", and its approach combines national exaggeration, political religiosity, and violent practices.
Ben Gvir studied law and tried to join the Bar, but his request was rejected due to his criminal record and his involvement in demonstrations and activities of the extreme right, before he was later allowed to join in 2012, when he defended what the Israeli newspapers described as "rogue settlers."
Ben Gvir - known for his extreme racism towards the Arabs and his affiliation with movements hostile to their presence in Palestine - did not succeed in entering the Knesset except after several strenuous attempts. The New Right" Naftali Bennett included him in the list of the Religious Zionist Alliance in the elections that followed.
Ben Gvir headed the "Jewish Power" party in the 24th Knesset elections, where he won the support of Netanyahu to enter parliament for the first time in March 2021, then he was re-elected in the 25th Knesset elections in early November 2022, to later take over the national security portfolio with expanded powers.
On December 7, 2022, the American news site “Axios” quoted US officials as saying that the White House discussed the possibility of not dealing with extremist ministers in the Israeli government, noting that the US ambassador to Israel, Tom Needs, urged the administration of President Joe Biden to take a more cautious approach. Accuracy with the Netanyahu government.
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