UN Security Council Members Voice 'Concern,' Stress Al Aqsa Status Quo

Facts

• On Thursday, UN Security Council members voiced concern and stressed the need to maintain the status quo at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque compound following a controversial visit by Israel's new security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. They stopped short, however, of committing to any action against Israel.
• This comes as China and the UAE called an emergency meeting after Jordan and the UN observer State of Palestine requested it in the wake of Ben-Gvir's entering the Al Aqsa compound with heavy security on Tuesday, allegedly vowing to change its status quo.
• This visit, reportedly the first to the site by an Israeli cabinet minister since 2017, prompted UN senior political affairs official Khaled Khiari to stress that it was "particularly inflammatory" despite not being accompanied or followed by violence due to Ben-Gvir's past statements.
• Though PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office reiterated this week its commitment to the status quo, Ben-Gvir has long advocated for changing the 1967 arrangement that handed the management of the Al Aqsa compound to a religious trust funded and supervised by Jordan.
• The historic status quo of the compound — known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount — allows non-Muslims to visit the site at specific times, but only Muslims to worship there.
• The disputed site, which is the holiest in Judaism and the third-holiest for Muslims, has been the scene of frequent clashes between Palestinians and Israelis, with tensions fueling past rounds of violence.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, Reuters, Washington Post, Voa, and Times of Israel.

Narratives

• Pro-Palestine, as provided by Al Jazeera. The storming of Al-Aqsa mosque by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir was an unprecedented provocation and a dangerous escalation of the conflict, violating international law and the status quo. Any infringement of the decades-long status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque could lead to an explosion in the region, not just inside Palestinian territories.
• Pro-Israel, as provided by Israel Hayom. Israel has not harmed the status quo and has no plans to do so. The Palestinian Authority is the only side that seeks to change the status quo; by turning the site into a battleground, it's making it clear that not only is Jewish prayer intolerable on the Temple Mount, but so is any Jewish presence. It's pure antisemitism.

Predictions