‘We Will Not Be Dictated To By Hamas’: The New Israeli National Security Minister Visits Temple Mount

Itamar Be-Gvir, the Israeli National Security Minister who is now in charge of the Israeli police, was at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which is the holiest place in Judaism on Tuesday.

Tuesday was the tenth day of Hebrew month Tevet. This is the day religious Jews fast to remember the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem 2,600 years ago. It ultimately led to destruction of the Biblical First Temple of the Mount.

Hamas, a terrorist group, threatened Israel Sunday if Ben-Gvir went to the Temple Mount. “The extremist Ben-Gvir is trying to convince his voters that he is implementing his promises by breaking into Al-Aqsa (Mosque),” Harun Nasser El-Din, Hamas official, snapped. This was the Israeli government at the time. “government of the occupation: “We hold the government of the occupation responsible for any escalation if there is damage to Al-Aqsa (Mosque) or to our people who are clinging to Jerusalem. We call on our people to protect Al-Aqsa (Mosque), and we are sure that our people will thwart all attempts to impose a new reality on Al-Aqsa (Mosque).”

“The Israeli government of which I am a member will not surrender to a vile murdering organization,” Ben-Gvir tweeted. “The Temple Mount is open to everyone and if Hamas thinks that if it threatens me it will deter me, let them understand that times have changed. There is a government in Jerusalem!”

ממשלת ישראל שאני חבר בה לא תיכנע לארגון מרצחים שפל. הר הבית פתוח לכולם ואם החמאס חושב שאם הוא יאיים עליי זה ירתיע אותי, שיבינו שהשתנו הזמנים. יש ממשלה בירושלים! pic.twitter.com/vgDYBYacJG

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) January 3, 2023

“Our government will not surrender to the threats of Hamas,” Ben-Gvir can also be accessed declared Tuesday “The Temple Mount is the most important place for the people of Israel, and we maintain the freedom of movement for Muslims and Christians, but Jews will also visit the site. Those who make threats must be dealt with an iron hand.”

Those who denied Jews the right to pray in their holiest places were quickly condemned.

“The repeated Israeli threats to change the historical status quo in the Aqsa Mosque would have serious consequences for everyone,” Palestinian Authority presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said, adding that the Palestinians oppose allowing Jews to pray at Judaism’s holiest site, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Even the Palestinian Foreign Ministry accused Ben-Gvir of being a pedestrian on the Temple Mount for fifteen minutes. “storming the site,” Declaring the Ministry “strongly condemns the storming of Al-Aqsa mosque by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir and views it as an unprecedented provocation and a dangerous escalation of the conflict.”

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, not to be outdone, echoed, “Jordan condemns in the severest of terms the storming of the Aqsa mosque and violating its sanctity.”

The United Arab Emirates joined it, declaring that they were supportive “reiterated its firm position on the need to provide full protection for the Al-Aqsa mosque and halt serious and provocative violations taking place there.”

It is not surprising that a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy Israel was chosen said of the Biden administration’s ambassador to Israel, “Ambassador Nides has been very clear in conversations with the Israeli government on the issue of preserving the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites. Actions that prevent that are unacceptable.”

A spokesperson for Biden White House National Security Council said, “The United States stands firmly for preservation of the status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem. Any unilateral action that jeopardizes the status quo is unacceptable.”

But a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office rebuffed the claim that Ben-Gvir’s visit disturbed the “status quo,” saying:

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, is committed to maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount, with no changes. Hamas cannot dictate to us. Hamas will not dictate to us. In recent years, ministers have climbed up to the Temple Mount, including Gilad Erdan, Public Security Minister.

“Jews ascending & praying at the Temple Mount in #Jerusalem is the most natural of acts,” Yishai Fleisher was the spokesperson for Hebron, which is the second holiest for Jews. “The real status quo is that this place has been the heart of our peoplehood for 3K years. Minister @itamarbengvir on the Mount today fought the terrorists and asserted our basic human rights.”

Jews praying on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. #Jerusalem It is the most natural act. This is the real status quo, as this place has been at the heart of our nationhood for 3K year. Minister @itamarbengvir Today we fought terrorists on the Mount and claimed our fundamental human rights. pic.twitter.com/1Qn0L2dPSZ

— Yishai Fleisher يشاي ישי פליישר 🕎 (@YishaiFleisher) January 3, 2023

The idea that Jews should be denied access to the holiest site of Judaism’s Judaism seems absurd https://t.co/gSRBnlCs2a

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 3, 2023

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