Ben Gvir invades Al-Aqsa and challenges secular status quo

Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right figure in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, invaded the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem this Sunday morning (12), accompanied by Israeli settlers and under the strong protection of security forces. The action, confirmed by the Palestinian agency Wafa, represents an unprecedented escalation in the dispute over Islam’s third holiest site — and a deliberate rupture with the fragile balance that has governed access to the site for decades.

Ben-Gvir said he feels like the “owner” of the place and said he will continue to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to expand access for Jewish worshipers. Ben-Gvir made the visit accompanied by Rabbi Elisha Wolfson, head of the Temple Mount Yeshiva. Wolfson claimed that Ben-Gvir was bringing about “enormous historic change” on the Temple Mount.

The status quo on the Temple Mount, established after 1967, allows Israel to oversee security while the Jordanian-backed Islamic Waqf manages the site. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said it considers Ben-Gvir’s visit a violation of the status quo agreement there and “a desecration of its sanctity, a reprehensible escalation and an unacceptable provocation.”

What changes with Ben-Gvir’s boldness

The novelty is not only the presence of a high-ranking Israeli politician in the complex, but the explicit nature of the provocation. Ben-Gvir did not limit himself to a “tourist visit” — a practice that had already been intensifying in recent years —, but carried out Jewish religious rituals inside the enclosure, displaying symbols prohibited by the historical status quo.

This conduct is in direct violation of tacit agreements maintained since 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem. Under the current understanding, Jews and other non-Muslims can visit the complex at set times, but are not allowed to pray, perform ceremonies or display objects of worship there. Ben-Gvir’s transgression, therefore, is not a protocol slip-up: it is a political act calculated to unilaterally redefine the rules of the game.

Colonists under state protection: the normalization of occupation

Another distinctive element of this invasion is the composition of the group that accompanied the minister. Israeli settlers — citizens illegally residing on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem — increasingly serve as the armed wing of the state’s expansionist policy. Their presence alongside Ben-Gvir, escorted by Israeli troops, symbolizes the fusion between the colonial project and the state apparatus.

What was previously seen as a marginal initiative by extremist groups now gains ministerial approval. The military protection provided to incursions not only serves to guarantee the security of the invaders: it legitimizes, in the eyes of Israeli and international public opinion, the narrative that the Temple Mount — the Jewish name for the same complex where Al-Aqsa stands — is disputed territory, and not an exclusively Muslim sacred space.

Status quo in check: regional implications

The disruption of the status quo in Al-Aqsa has repercussions that go beyond the walls of the Old City. The location is sensitive not just for Palestinians and Israelis, but for more than 1.8 billion Muslims around the world. Any change in the access regime is interpreted as a direct threat to the religious and political sovereignty of the Arab and Islamic peoples.

Historically, tensions in Al-Aqsa act as a trigger for broader cycles of violence. The Second Intifada (2000) was triggered after Ariel Sharon’s visit to the complex. Today, with the region already marked by conflicts in Gaza, tensions in the West Bank and instability in Lebanon, Ben-Gvir’s provocation adds fuel to an explosive scenario.

Internal political strategy: radicalization as electoral currency

To understand Ben-Gvir’s boldness, it is also necessary to look at the internal political game in Israel. Minister of an extreme right-wing party (Otzma Yehudit), he builds his support base among colonizing and radical religious sectors. Raids on Al-Aqsa act as a show of strength for this electorate, while at the same time putting pressure on Netanyahu to adopt even more intransigent stances.

In this sense, the invasion is not an isolated act, but part of a coordinated strategy to consolidate Israeli control over East Jerusalem — de facto annexed by Israel, but internationally recognized as occupied Palestinian territory.

Reactions and a dangerous precedent

To date, Palestinian officials have strongly condemned the action. The Jerusalem Waqf — the Jordanian entity responsible for the administration of Muslim holy sites — must lodge a formal protest with the UN and international organizations. Arab and Muslim countries, in turn, can call for diplomatic emergencies.

On the Israeli side, there are unlikely to be domestic sanctions against Ben-Gvir. On the contrary: his stance tends to be celebrated by sectors of the government and public opinion as a “defense of Jewish rights” on the ground.

Ben-Gvir’s invasion of Al-Aqsa is not just another episode in the long dispute over Jerusalem. It is a milestone that signals the current Israeli government’s willingness to abandon even the minimal diplomatic constraints that supported the status quo. By transforming a moderation agreement into a symbolic battlefield, Israel takes the risk of reigniting conflicts on a regional scale — and isolating itself even further on the international stage.

For the Palestinians, the message is clear: the occupation is not limited to territorial control, but advances on the spiritual and identity dimension of their people.