Israeli police split over Ben-Gvir Al-Aqsa status quo change attempts
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Tensions rise in occupied al-Quds as Israeli police clash over Itamar Ben-Gvir’s actions at the al-Aqsa Mosque amid unprecedented settler incursions.
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Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at the opening of a Knesset session, al-Quds, occupied Palestine, October 28, 2024 (AP)
Tensions are escalating within the Israeli police force between the al-Quds District Police commander Amir Arzani and Police Commissioner Danny Levy, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attempts to impose changes to the status quo at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed.
According to the Israeli newspaper, Arzani opposes the pressure from Ben-Gvir to impose a new reality, including allowing public prayers for settlers inside the al-Aqsa compound and extending incursion hours, and has since sought support from Police Commissioner Danny Levy.
Levy, Haaretz reported, has chosen to align himself with Ben-Gvir and is working with him to remove Arzani from his position, replacing him with someone who supports the far-right minister's policies regarding the mosque.
Ben-Gvir storms al-Aqsa aiming to change status quo
In an unprecedented move, Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound yesterday, leading a mob of settlers in performing Talmudic rituals inside the holy site, marking yet another violation of the decades-old status quo governing the sacred location.
Following the incident, Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying, "Israel's policy of maintaining the status quo has not changed and will not change."
Over 2,200 settlers participated in the incursion, storming the courtyards of the al-Aqsa Mosque in successive waves under heavy protection from Israeli police forces, where they conducted group prayers, chanted religious slogans, danced, and shouted within the holy compound, all while receiving explicit authorization from the occupation police in direct violation of even Israeli law.
These coordinated incursions form part of a premeditated strategy promoted by extremist "Temple" groups in recent days, who designated August 3 as their so-called "day of the largest incursion" into the al-Aqsa Mosque, deliberately capitalizing on the complete backing of Israeli government authorities for both their religious ambitions and political objectives.
The al-Quds governorate warned this year's event poses unprecedented danger, calling it "the gravest threat to al-Aqsa in years," as the incursion deliberately crosses religious and legal limits on settler actions in the sanctuary, all backed by official Israeli support.
