Ben-Gvir's Al-Aqsa Visit Was a Political Signal

By the Editorial Team of TLF

Itamar Ben-Gvir's appearance at Al-Aqsa during Sukkot was presented as a religious visit. It was also a show of power.

According to Al Jazeera, the Israeli national security minister entered the compound under police protection, and video released by his office showed him taking part in religious rituals. The setting gave the moment its weight. Ben-Gvir is not a private citizen making a pilgrimage. He is the minister responsible for Israel's police.

At Al-Aqsa, that distinction is combustible.

The compound is administered day to day by the Jordanian-appointed Islamic Waqf under the long-standing status quo. Muslims pray there. Jewish visitors are allowed entry under Israeli control, but public prayer by non-Muslims has long been restricted because of the risk of confrontation. Ben-Gvir's visits have repeatedly pressed against those limits.

According to Anadolu Agency, about 1,500 Israeli visitors, including Ben-Gvir, entered the compound during Sukkot. The agency also reported that Palestinian businesses in the Old City were forced to close during holiday prayers and that Jewish rituals were carried out at the site.

For Ben-Gvir's supporters, the visit fits a wider push for expanded Jewish access and worship at the compound, which Jews call the Temple Mount. For Palestinians and Jordan, it looks like an attempt to alter the rules through repetition. One visit becomes another. Police protection becomes routine. The visual message settles in.

Jordan has been particularly direct. As stated by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the Foreign Ministry described Ben-Gvir's earlier September incursion as a violation of the historical and legal status quo, a desecration and an unacceptable provocation. Jordan maintains that the whole Al-Aqsa compound is an exclusive Muslim place of worship and that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied East Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian holy sites.

Saudi Arabia has used similar language. According to Saudi Gazette, Riyadh called the recent incursion a blatant violation and a provocation to Muslims across the world.

Turkey and Egypt have condemned comparable Ben-Gvir visits before. As Associated Press reported, Ankara warned such moves could drive regional escalation, while Cairo warned of damage to security and the peace process.

This was political theatre, certainly. But it was theatre staged at the one place where symbols have a habit of becoming crises.

Photo: Gemini