Saudi Arabia, Jordan & Haredis slam Ben Gvir for suggesting he'd like to build synagogue on Jerusalem's Temple Mount

Ultra-Orthodox newspaper condemns National Security Minister Ben Gvir in Arabic on front page

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Criticism of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s latest comments about Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem continued on Tuesday with Saudi Arabia joining in the condemnations.

“The kingdom affirms its categorical rejection of these extremist and inflammatory statements, and its rejection of the ongoing provocations of the feelings of Muslims around the world,” according to a statement that only referred to Ben Gvir as “a minister in the Israeli occupation government.”

“The kingdom stresses the need to respect the historical and legal status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque… and activating serious mechanisms to hold Israeli officials accountable for the ongoing violations of international laws, norms and resolutions,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated.

On Monday, Ben Gvir, once again, contradicted the status quo regulating affairs on the holy site, telling Army Radio that “policies on the Temple Mount allow prayer, period.”

“Why should a Jew be afraid to pray?” he asked rhetorically. “Because Hamas will be angry?”

“If I did everything I wanted on Temple Mount, the Israeli flag would have long been flying there.”

When asked whether he would build a synagogue on the Temple Mount if he could, Ben Gvir said yes.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (PMO) quickly issued a terse statement, affirming, “There is no change whatsoever in the status quo on the Temple Mount.” Several other coalition ministers, especially those in the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) parties, sharply criticized Ben Gvir.

The Kingdom of Jordan, which controls civilian affairs on the Temple Mount through an Islamic trust (Waqf), asserted that the site “is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims.”

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned Ben Gvir’s comments “in the strongest terms,” calling him an “extremist Israeli minister who fuels a policy of extremism and works to change the historical and legal status in Jerusalem and its holy sites” with a “fanatical exclusionary narrative.”

“Jordan will take all necessary measures to stop the attacks on the holy sites and it is preparing the necessary legal files to take action in international courts against such attacks,” the ministry added.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) also slammed the Israeli minister's comments, calling on its international allies to pressure Israel to put an end to “Ben Gvir’s practices, statements and provocative stances.”

The Hamas terror group alleged that Ben Gvir announced plans “to build a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” and called on Palestinians to gather at the site “to confront the occupation’s plans.”

Today's front page of Yated Neeman, the ultra-orthodox newspaper: reiterating, in both Hebrew and Arabic, that what Israeli minister Ben Gvir is proposing, building a synagogue on the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem is strictly forbidden. https://t.co/KLtkNojHY8
— (((it's DOCTOR, not Ms.))) (@NotOccupying) August 27, 2024

Within Israel, the loudest criticism against advancing Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount often comes from within Haredi society, whose rabbis hold that it is forbidden for Jews to even enter the site due to its holiness.

On Tuesday, the most prominent Haredi newspaper Yated Neeman, affiliated with the Degel Hatorah faction of the United Torah Judaism party, featured a condemnation of Ben Gvir’s action in Arabic on its front page.

The paper called Ben Gvir a “pyromaniac politician” who endangered “all inhabitants of the Holy Land.” It also pointed to the opinion of “all rabbis of Jewish law in all generations” that ascending the Temple Mount is “severely forbidden.”

Two weeks ago, five prominent Jerusalem-based rabbis condemned Ben Gvir’s actions during his latest Temple Mount visit in a video posted to an Arabic-language website with Arabic subtitles.