Israel's Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, again visited the Al Aqsa Mosque complex last Thursday (27/7/2023). The provocative visit angered the Islamic world.
Indonesia is one of the countries that strongly condemned Israel's latest provocation. "For the umpteenth time, Israel has carried out provocative actions that could worsen stability and the security situation in the region," said a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via Twitter on Friday (28/7/2023), as reported by CNN Indonesia.
"Indonesia condemns the Israeli Minister's provocative action at the Al-Aqsa Complex as a violation of international law and the Jerusalem status quo," wrote the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Jerusalem Post reported that Ben Gvir visited the compound on Thursday morning to monitor Jewish residents observing the Tisha B'Av fast. Traditionally, Jews usually go to Jerusalem for the Tisha B'Av celebration. Some of them then visited the Wailing Wall which is inside the Al Aqsa complex.
Jews call the Al Aqsa complex the Temple Mount. Within the complex, stands the Al Aqsa Mosque and a number of Jewish holy sites, such as the Dome of the Rock and the Wailing Wall.
According to the status quo, only Muslims can worship at Al Aqsa. Meanwhile, Jews are only allowed to visit, not to worship. But lately, more and more Jews are breaking this rule. The Al Aqsa Mosque complex has also become one of the major flashpoints in the midst of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
BenGvir himself has visited Al Aqsa several times, angering various parties, especially Palestine and other Muslim-majority countries. When Ben Gvir returned to visit Al Aqsa last Thursday, Palestine and Jordan immediately became furious.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry warned that Israel's attitude and violations of the status quo at the Al Aqsa compound "threatened the situation to escalate into a wave of violence." "The attitude of the Israeli minister to storm the holy Al Aqsa mosque and violate its sanctity and the practices of extremists is an act of provocation and violation of international law," said Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan Al Majli, as reported by Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Government declared Ben Gvir's visit as part of "Israel's protection against invasion and plans to Judaize Al Aqsa Mosque and force changes to historical and legal realities."
