Saudi Arabia reacts to Ben Gvir remarks on building synagogue at Al-Aqsa Mosque

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned Israeli minister Ben Gvir remarks where he called to build a synagogue at Al-Aqsa mosque and reiterated the need to respect the historical and legal status of the Mosque.

A far-right Israeli minister Ben Gvir has sparked outrage by saying he would build a Jewish synagogue at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem if he could, strengthening the narrative that the Muslim holy site and Palestinian national symbol is under threat.

The Kingdom lashed at Ben Gvir and rejected its ‘extremist and inflammatory’ statements, according to the Kingdom’s foreign ministry.

The Kingdom affirmed its categorical rejection of these extremist and provocative statements, and the ongoing provocations of Muslims around the world.

Saudi Arabia “reiterated the need to respect the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the statement read.

The Kingdom renewed its call on the international community to assume its responsibilities and put an end to the Palestinian humanitarian catastrophe, and activate serious mechanisms to hold Israeli officials accountable for the ongoing violations of international laws, norms and resolutions.

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National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has repeatedly ignored the Israeli government’s longstanding ban on Jews praying at the site, told Army Radio that if it were possible, he would build a synagogue at the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

The Al-Aqsa compound is Islam’s third holiest site and a symbol of Palestinian identity. It is also considered by Jews to be the site of the First and Second Temples – the latter destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

“If I could do anything I wanted, I would put an Israeli flag on the site,” Ben-Gvir said in the interview.

Asked several times by a journalist if he would build a synagogue at the site if it were up to him, Ben-Gvir finally replied: “Yes.”

Under the decades-old status quo maintained by Israeli authorities, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound in occupied East Jerusalem during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

Ben-Gvir has also been criticised by some Orthodox Jews, who consider the site too holy a place for Jews to enter. According to leading rabbis, it is forbidden for any Jew to enter any part of Al-Aqsa due to its sanctity.

In recent years, the restrictions at the compound have been increasingly flouted by hardline religious nationalists like Ben-Gvir, sometimes prompting confrontations with Palestinians.