US urges 'Israel' to allow worshippers to al-Aqsa during Ramadan
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The US State Department spokesman says that "it is not in Israel's security interest to inflame tensions in the West Bank or in the broader region."
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Palestinian worshipers who were prevented from entering the al-Aqsa Mosque pray outside al-Quds' Old City, on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
The United States on Wednesday urged "Israel" to allow worshippers to access the holy al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied al-Quds during the Muslim month of Ramadan after Israeli occupation Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir proposed barring Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and the occupied territories in 1948 from praying there.
"As it pertains to Al-Aqsa, we continue to urge Israel to facilitate access to Temple Mount for peaceful worshippers during Ramadan consistent with past practice," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, using the Jewish term for the site.
"That's not just the right thing to do, it's not just a matter of granting people religious freedom that they deserve and to which they have a right, but it's also a matter that directly is important to Israel's security," he said.
Miller stressed that "it is not in Israel's security interest to inflame tensions in the West Bank or in the broader region."
Last week, Ben-Gvir said that Palestinian residents of the West Bank "should not be allowed" entry to al-Quds to pray during Ramadan.
The head of Hamas' Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, called Wednesday for a mass movement on al-Aqsa for the start of Ramadan.
“We call on our people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the occupied interior (Israel) to travel to Al-Aqsa from the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan, in groups or alone, to pray there to break the siege on it," Haniyeh said in a televised statement.
Responding to the announcement that "Israel" plans to approve the construction of more than 3,000 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, Miller pointed out that "Israel's" "settlement program is both an obstacle to peace and inconsistent with international law."
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli media reported that the Israeli war cabinet revoked Ben-Gvir's jurisdictions over the al-Aqsa Mosque, despite the media previously mentioning that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had yielded to his Police Minister's demands.
The decision came after Israeli police and several ministers warned against the measure, saying this would incite an explosion in the situation.
In response, Ben-Gvir said he is certain Netanyahu will deny what has been reported.
Currently, the Israeli occupation has blocked all the entrances to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, allowing only a few dozen worshippers in. Concurrently, Israeli settlers have been allowed in, under the protection of occupation forces, deliberately violating the sanctity of the site.
It is worth noting that during the holy month of Ramadan, tens to hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers head to the compound to pray. The current status quo in al-Quds has been warned against by members of the Israeli intelligence services who believe that restricting worshippers' movements would have dire consequences for the Israeli regime's security.
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