The Israeli security minister toured the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque, a provocative move that could jeopardize ceasefire negotiations.
Israel’s far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir visited Al-Aqsa MosqueA holy place in the Old City of Jerusalem, the place where the fire started.
Tensions over the site in occupied east Jerusalem have escalated past bouts of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, and Ben Gvir’s visit on Thursday risks upsetting delicate talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Israel’s more than nine-month-old Gaza war.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced the visit as a “provocative incursion” that endangers the fragile status quo in the Jerusalem area.
The mosque is located in the Al-Aqsa area, the third holiest site in the world for Muslims, which is also revered by Jews, who call it the Temple Mount.
Currently, non-Muslims can visit the site but cannot pray there, but Jewish visitors are increasingly ignoring the ban in what Palestinians see as a provocation and fear is a sign Israel is trying to take over the site.
Ben Gvir said he had visited the site to pray for the return of Israeli prisoners, “but without making any reckless deals or surrendering.”
Hamas called Ben Gvir’s move a “dangerous escalation” and called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to take “serious action to stop these systematic violations” of its holy sites.
Israel’s intensifying offensive puts ceasefire talks in jeopardy
Israeli negotiators arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to continue ceasefire talks that appeared to have stalled after a senior Hamas official said the group was withdrawing from talks following recent Israeli attacks on Gaza but was ready to return if there was a change of attitude.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel of deliberately obstructing negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of prisoners because it does not want to end the war.
Palestinian officials said on Thursday that Israeli attacks on central Gaza continued to intensify, killing 54 Palestinians in the space of 24 hours.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported from Deir el-Barraf, Israeli bombing campaign Explosions in the exclave’s centre have killed 500 people in the past 10 days.
“This is probably a conservative figure. It’s probably much higher if you take into account all the missing people,” he said.
“An entire family of three generations was killed this morning – grandparents, parents and children. This is a pattern of systematic mass killings that we have witnessed many times before,” Mahmoud said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu visits Rafah
As Israeli forces continue their assault on Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to address the U.S. Congress next week, paid a surprise visit to Israeli troops in the Rafah area and said military pressure and persistence in securing the release of the dozens of prisoners still being held in Gaza were paying off.
“This dual pressure will move an agreement forward, not delay it,” he said, according to a statement from his office.
Around 250 people were captured and at least 1,139 killed in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
According to Palestinian officials, at least 38,848 people have been killed and 89,459 wounded in Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza.
Israelis released from captivity in the Gaza Strip are planning protests on Thursday to protest Netanyahu’s visit to the United States.
They say they will make a “special statement” in a square in Tel Aviv where protesters have gathered since the start of the war, calling for the release of prisoners and new elections.
