Ben Gville’s visit to the facility Often a source of violenceThe announcement came a day after an Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo to resume negotiations through US and Egyptian intermediaries. The talks have collapsed several times since November but have picked up momentum over the past week amid signals from both Israel and Hamas that an agreement is possible.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure from families of those taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack to reach an agreement as soon as possible, but his partners in Ben Gvir’s far-right coalition have threatened to topple the government if the prime minister agrees to a ceasefire that would end fighting with Hamas in Gaza.
During a visit to Rafah in southern Gaza on Thursday, Netanyahu said Israeli forces there were exerting military pressure “at the throat of Hamas” that would lead to “advancement of the hostage deal.” He denied claims that Israel’s continued bombing of Gaza was slowing the deal, saying it was “if anything, moving it forward.”
in Video taken Speaking in front of the golden Dome of the Rock, Ben Gvir said he was there to pray for Netanyahu “to never retreat and to win the victory to the end.”
Visits by non-Muslims to Al-Aqsa Square, known as the holy site to Muslims and the Temple Mount to Jews, are severely restricted and non-Muslims are banned from praying there.
Supporters of the around 120 Israeli hostages believed to still be held in the Gaza Strip say Ben Gvir poses a risk to their lives.
“These comments and actions are deeply hurtful to the families of the hostages and dangerously irresponsible,” the umbrella group Hostage Families Forum said in a statement to The Washington Post on Thursday. “The lives of the hostages hang in the balance. For many, their lives are already over and with every day that passes in captivity, their peril only grows.”
White House national security spokesman John Kirby appeared to condemn Ben Gvir’s visit to the mosque, telling reporters the United States was concerned about counterproductive rhetoric by some Israeli officials and that they should not inflame tensions.
“We have also expressed concerns about the actions and rhetoric of certain Israeli leaders, and those concerns remain valid,” Kirby said, “and we will continue to urge Israeli leaders to never do anything that incites emotion or leads to or encourages acts of violence.”
Ben Gvir’s visit was immediately condemned by neighbouring Jordan, which has controlled the Old City of Jerusalem since Israel captured it in the 1967 war.
Ben Gvir has frequently visited the site, relying on parliamentary immunity to avoid arrest, and has called for its return to Israeli control.
Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arber condemned the visit as a “provocative act”, citing guidance from Jewish leaders that no one should enter the Temple Mount for prayer.
The unrest comes at a time when ceasefire talks have been stymied with no breakthrough in sight. The Post reported. U.S. and Arab officials said ties between the two countries were closer than ever but that Israel had added new conditions to its outline proposal and that both sides had balked at some of the details during talks. The two sides met in Cairo and Doha, Qatar, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
Ben Gville Ultranationalist settler leader Saudi, who was on the fringes of Israeli politics until he was invited by Netanyahu to join his slim majority in 2022, is one of the prime minister’s most hardline partners in the four-seat majority coalition government. He and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich frequently warn that they will topple Netanyahu if he deviates from his hard-line stance.
Both countries reject any proposal to include a Palestinian Authority in future governance of the Gaza Strip and want Israel to permanently reoccupy the area after any war.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment.
Other things to know
The Department of Defense has halted a mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza via floating docks. rear It will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and last only a few months.Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said the at-sea mission would be transferred to the Israeli port of Ashdod, north of Gaza. The floating platform project worked as expected, Repeatedly pushed aside by bad weather and rough seas.
The parents of Israeli hostage Omer Neutra spoke at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night. “Bring them home,” he chanted, leading the delegation. Served as a tank commander Omer was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7. “This is not just an attack on Israel. This was and is an attack on America,” Omer’s father, Ronen Neutra, said in a speech praising the former president. Donald Trump for calling him after the attack.
Egyptian officials said “tension in the Red Sea” had caused a drop in revenue from the Suez Canal. That’s because fewer ships are passing through the canal. The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement on Thursday that 20,148 ships passed through the canal in the most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30, down from 25,911 the year before. Revenue for the same period fell to $7.2 billion from $9.4 billion.
The Israel Defense Forces said they had killed about 20 fighters from Hamas’ Al-Shati Battalion. The ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the Israeli air force had killed “terrorist observers, technicians and snipers,” including the sniper who killed Israeli soldier Tal Rahat in Gaza City on July 9.
At least 38,848 people have died and 89,459 People injured in Gaza since the war began, The Gaza Health Ministry said in a statement. The ministry did not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but said most of the dead were women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’ October 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers. 326 soldiers They have been killed since the start of the military operation in Gaza.
Sands reported from London and Pietsch from Washington. Michael Birnbaum in Washington contributed to this report.
