CAIRO, May 22 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt yesterday condemned Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Jerusalem.
“Such provocative behaviour is inconsistent with the wisdom and responsibility of officials,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Egypt also called on Israel to immediately stop the escalating practices, that fuel tensions in the occupied territories of Palestine.
Earlier in the day, Ben-Gvir, escorted by heavy police presence and the internal security agency, Shin Bet, visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, holy to both Muslims and Jews.
The Israeli minister said, he was glad to come up to the compound and thanked the police at the site.
The visit came days after the Flag March, an annual march by tens of thousands of Israeli nationalists, to mark the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem.
Israel gained control of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war and occupied it, despite international criticism. Under a long-held status quo, the site is supervised by the Jordanian Waqf, allowing only Muslim worshippers.– NNN-MENA
