Palestinians have condemned a visit to a contested holy site in Jerusalem by a far-right Israeli minister as a “unprecedented provocation“.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the National Security Minister who has called for a tougher stance toward Palestinians, walked around the site surrounded by police.
Competing claims to the compound have strained relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
With the election of Israel’s new nationalistic government, tensions have risen.
Mr. Ben-visit Gvir’s was his first public appearance since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was sworn in five days ago.
The hilltop location is the holiest site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam. It is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, the site of Muhammad’s ascension to Heaven. Muslims consider the entire compound to be al-Aqsa Mosque.