‘Crossed all red lines’: Israeli far-right miner Ben-Gvir’s prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque sparks condemnation | World News

Israel’s far-right national security miner, Itamar Ben-Gvir, sparked widespread condemnation visiting and praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday (Aug 3), defying a long-standing “status quo” arrangement governing one of the Middle East’s most sensitive sites.During his visit, Ben-Gvir led a group of Jewish prayers at the compound, renewing calls for Israel to “declare sovereignty over Gaza”.
The Al-Aqsa compound is managed under a fragile, decades-old “status quo” agreement, which allows Jewish visitors but prohibits them from praying. A Jordanian religious foundation oversees this arrangement.
‘Crossed all red lines’
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesperson released a statement strongly condemning Ben-Gvir’s visit, stating that the action “crossed all red lines.”
“The international community, specifically the US adminration, is required to intervene immediately to put an end to the crimes of the settlers and the provocations of the extreme right-wing government in Al Aqsa Mosque, stop the war on the Gaza Strip and bring in humanitarian aid,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
‘Reprehensible escalation’
The custodian of the sensitive site, Jordan, denounced the Israeli miner’s unprecedented move, calling it “an unacceptable provocation, and a reprehensible escalation”.
Jordan’s foreign minry emphasised that “Israel has no sovereignty over the Al-Aqsa Mosque”.Story continues below this ad
“The Minry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned in the strongest terms the storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif the extrem Israeli National Security Miner Itamar Ben-Gvir, under the protection of the Israeli occupation police, considering it a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, an unacceptable provocation, and a condemned escalation, emphasizing that Israel has no sovereignty over the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” it said in a statement.
‘Provocative practices’
Saudi Arabia affirmed that such “provocative practices officials of the Israeli occupation authorities” against Al-Aqsa Mosque “fuel the conflict in the region”.
“The foreign minry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation in the strongest terms of the repeated provocative practices officials of the Israeli occupation authorities against al-Aqsa mosque,” a statement on X read.
“The Kingdom affirms that such practices fuel the conflict in the region,” it added.

#Statement | The Foreign Minry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation in the strongest terms of the repeated provocative practices officials of the Israeli occupation authorities against Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Kingdom affirms that such practices fuel the conflict… pic.twitter.com/SWubIeWvaQ
— Foreign Minry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) August 3, 2025
‘Direct assault on international law’Story continues below this ad
Pakan also joined the condemnation of Ben-Gvir’s actions, calling it a “direct assault on international law”.
Prime Miner Shehbaz Sharif said that such moves Israel were “deliberately inflaming tensions in Palestine and the wider region, pushing the Middle East closer to further instability and conflict”.
“Pakan unequivocally condemns, the recent act of storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Israeli miners, accompanied settler groups and shielded Israeli police. This sacrilege against one of Islam’s holiest sites is not only an affront to Muslims worldwide but also a direct assault on international law and the collective conscience of humanity,” Sharif said.

Pakan unequivocally condemns, the recent act of storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Israeli miners, accompanied settler groups and shielded Israeli police.
This sacrilege against one of Islam’s holiest sites is not only an affront to Muslims worldwide but also a…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) August 4, 2025
“Such systematic provocations the occupying power, coupled with reckless calls for annexation, imperils the prospects for peace,” he added.