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Opposition leader Yair Lapid on Monday warned of a deadly escalation with the Palestinians if National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir goes ahead with his plans to visit the highly volatile Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
“Itamar Ben-Gvir cannot be allowed to ascend Temple Mount, it’s a provocation that will lead to deadly violence and will cost lives,” he said at the opening of a faction meeting of his centrist Yesh Atid party.
Ben-Gvir, the leader of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, announced on Sunday upon taking the post of national security minister his intentions to visit the highly revered site, one of the holiest places in Islam. It is also the holiest place in the Jewish faith as it was once home to the two Jewish Temples of antiquity.
Lapid urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try and dissuade Ben-Gvir from making the trip to the holy site, which has been a recurrent flashpoint of violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces and even a casus belli for an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza Strip militant factions in May 2021.
“Even if [Netanyahu] is weak, he must put his foot down this time and tell him ‘you’re not going up Temple Mount because people will die,” he said.
The far-right firebrand had visited the site many times before both as a private citizen and a member of Knesset, as recently as a few weeks ago, but doing so as a member of the Israeli Cabinet could be perceived as a finger in the eye to the Palestinians.
Lapid further warned that disturbing the fragile status quo at the site could spark a regional conflict that would plunge the entire Middle East into chaos.
“The security establishment thinks this is dangerous. It is not by chance that ministers have been avoiding going to Temple Mount for many years. Knesset members may, but ministers may not. Certainly not the minister in charge of the police,” he said.
"The world will see it as a violation of the status quo, it's an unnecessary risk. All the experts will say the same, but not all of them can give interviews, but I'm telling you this based on information I was made privy to. The elected government will bear responsibility for this."
The former prime minister’s remarks came shortly after the Gaza-based terror group Hamas warned of escalation if Ben-Gvir makes good on his promise to visit the site sometime this week.
According to Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, the organization informed Egyptian and UN mediators that "it would not stand idly by," and that "Ben-Gvir's step would ignite the region."
The terror group's spokesman, Abd al-Latif al-Qanou, said in a statement: "Criminal Ben-Gvir's announcement of his intention to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque reflects the arrogance of the fascist settler government and its premeditated intentions to escalate incursions and attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque with the aim of dividing it.
The escalation in Al-Aqsa Mosque represents a detonator, and the occupation government will bear the consequences for that," he said, stressing at the same time that "the Palestinian people will bravely confront these follies and provocations and will not allow the occupation's plans to pass.”
Meanwhile, a close associate of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for an international response to Ben-Gvir's planned visit to Temple Mount.
"[Ben-Gvir's] brazenness necessitates a Palestinian, Arab and international response," said Hussein al-Sheikh, the secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization who is also widely viewed as Abbas's successor. "This is the first step of this government and is occupation policy."
Later on Monday, Israeli police officials will meet to discuss preparations of the forces ahead of Ben-Gvir's visit. This will be the first time the far-right lawmaker will visit the religious site since he took office as a minister who oversees all police activity.
Meanwhile, the police called Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, a leading Temple Mount cleric and former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, in for questioning. The police warned him not to incite violence against Ben-Gvir.
Sabri has been accused of incitement to terrorism, and Israel has issued orders against the cleric to prevent him from leaving the country several times.