UN Security Council members insist on status quo on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque

United Nations:

Members of the UN Security Council expressed concern on Thursday and stressed the need to maintain the status quo at the Al Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem, days after Israel’s new far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir made a brief visit to the site .

While the decades-old status quo allows only Muslim worship at the compound, the site is also revered by Jews, who call it the Temple Mount. An Israeli official said that Ben-Gvir complied with the rule that allows non-Muslims to visit but not pray.

Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour prompted the Security Council to take action – a move that seemed unlikely given that the United States traditionally shields Israel. The United States, Russia, China, France, and Britain all have Council veto power.

“What red line does Israel need to cross for the Security Council to finally say this,” Mansour told the 15-member council, accusing it of showing “absolute contempt”.

The senior UN political affairs official, Khalid Khyari, told the council that this was the first visit to the site by an Israeli cabinet minister since 2017.

“While the visit was not accompanied or followed by violence, it is viewed as particularly provocative given Mr. Ben-Gvir’s previous advocacy for a change in the status quo,” he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all parties to avoid steps that could escalate tensions in and around holy sites.

Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan told reporters before the meeting: “Jews are allowed to visit the holiest site in Judaism. It is the right of every Jew, every Jew. Israel has not harmed the status quo and There are no plans to do so.” ,

Ben-Gvir once called for an end to the ban on Jewish prayer at the site, but has remained non-committal on the issue since aligning with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Other members of Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party still advocate such a move.

The United States remains committed to a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and is “concerned by any unilateral action that escalates tensions or undermines the viability of a two-state solution,” US Deputy UN Ambassador Robert Wood said the Council.

Wood said, “We note that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s governing platform calls for maintaining the status quo with respect to the holy places. We expect the Government of Israel to adhere to that commitment.”

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