THE new Israeli government that has just taken power, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, is being described as the most right-wing ever, and with good reason. For within the Israeli cabinet are characters who display an avowed hatred for Palestinians, and proudly brandish their credentials as Jewish extremists. Amongst them is the new security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has an appalling record of spewing anti-Arab venom. On Tuesday, Mr Ben-Gvir very much lived up to his reputation as a maverick and a provocateur when he made an ill-advised visit to the Al Aqsa compound in occupied East Jerusalem. This was no harmless religious visit, for according to the ‘status quo’ of the holy site, only Muslims are allowed to worship on the Haram As-Sharif, which the Jews refer to as the Temple Mount. Furthermore, Mr Ben-Gvir has in the past made highly inflammatory comments about the sacred site. In a tweet last year, after visiting Al Aqsa, when he was not in office, the hard-line politician called for “establishing a synagogue on the mountain” — a thinly veiled call for destroying the revered mosque, which is a goal many extremist Jews are quite open about. It should also be recalled that the second intifada was sparked by Ariel Sharon’s equally provocative visit to the holy site in 2000.
Luckily, even many of Israel’s closest foreign friends have condemned this rash move. The US has criticised the “unilateral action that jeopardises the status quo”, while major Arab states, including the UAE, which has made peace with Israel, have also called out the incendiary move. In fact, the UAE and China have called a UNSC meeting to discuss the storming. As it is, the Palestinians are facing the deadly force of a government that is unabashedly hostile to them. Now, unless the more extreme elements in Mr Netanyahu’s cabinet are reined in, and stopped from further provocations, a new cycle of violence in the occupied territories is quite likely, as Palestinian rage against Israeli oppression boils over.
Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2023
