Israeli cabinet divided over banning settlers from entering Al-Aqsa

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
13 Apr 2023 19:23

Israeli media say Ben-Gvir was not satisfied with the government's decisions regarding the response to the rocket launches from Lebanon and Gaza.

Israeli occupation Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends the weekly cabinet meeting in occupied Al-Quds, on January 3, 2023 (Reuters)

The disagreement continues between Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who expressed his dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister's decision last Tuesday to ban illegal Israeli settlers from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound until the end of Ramadan, according to the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth news website.

Yedioth Ahronoth cited a source close to Ben-Gvir as saying that the Israeli occupation Security Minister was not satisfied with the government's decisions regarding the response to the rocket launches from Lebanon and Gaza, revealing that the two had a conversation in which Ben-Gvir criticized Netanyahu, saying that the decision to ban illegal Israeli settlers from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound was a "grave mistake" and it would not mitigate the existing tensions and may only lead to an escalation.

However, the source said there is no current intention to dissolve the Israeli occupation government.

The source considered that Netanyahu made a mistake when he relied only on intelligence about the presence of thousands of Palestinian worshippers and a tense atmosphere that turned out to be incorrect, adding that this is simply "a big and dangerous mistake."

The website pointed out that Israeli Knesset members from the Ben-Gvir party also criticized Netanyahu's ban and considered it a "wrong policy", adding that "our enemy will interpret this as weakness."

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Ben-Gvir -- supported by all the heads of the security services -- was angry at Netanyahu's decision and "did not surrender" to the Prime Minister. According to his aides, he spoke out against the decisions in a closed session on Wednesday.

Al-Quds Day puts the Israeli occupation on high alert: Israeli media

Israeli media also reported on Wednesday that the state of high alert in the occupied city of Al-Quds is still at its peak, despite the decision to prevent illegal Israeli settlers from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli i24NEWS website said the settlers' incursions into Al-Aqsa compound and its vicinity ended on Tuesday without any exceptional incidents, but the state of high alert in the occupied city of Al-Quds is still at its peak, as thousands of Israeli occupation police officers have been deployed since the eve of the "Jewish Passover" holiday.

According to the news website, despite Netanyahu's decision, there are still Israeli fears of an escalation of the situation due to the possibility of any event occurring at Al-Aqsa compound and its vicinity similar to the ones that were witnessed earlier.

Last week, Israeli occupation forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque numerous times and brutally assaulted worshippers stationed there in order to pave the way for illegal settlers to raid the compound to celebrate the "Jewish Passover" holiday.

I24NEWS noted that the Israeli occupation's security services are focused on next week when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are expected to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque compound at the end of Ramadan to commemorate Al-Quds Day.

On its part, the Israeli Channel 12 quoted sources in the Israeli occupation police as saying that the intelligence showed an important fear that the confrontations at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its vicinity may slide into several other cities.