Ben Gvir called for preventing Palestinians from the West Bank from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque (Reuters)
Israeli Channel 13 revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the proposal of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to restrict the entry of Palestinians from inside and Jerusalem to Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan.
The channel added that it is expected that an official final decision will be taken in this regard within the next few days.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that the proposal was not accepted by the Israeli army and the Israeli Internal Security Service (Shin Bet), for fear of escalation in Jerusalem and the West Bank and the occurrence of unrest between Palestinians inside and the Israeli police.
The Shin Bet and the army proposed allowing Palestinians aged 45 and over to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, while the police proposed allowing only those over 60 years of age to enter.
The broadcasting authority added that the police proposed deploying a permanent force in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, with the aim of immediately dealing with what it described as "incitement campaigns", or raising the flags of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
Israel has limited Palestinian access to Al-Aqsa Mosque since the start of the war in Gaza (French)
Military affairs correspondent for the Israeli Channel 12, Nir Dvori, quoted army commanders warning of the explosion of the situation in the West Bank, which is expected to reach its peak with the advent of the month of Ramadan, and that if this happens, it is possible to transfer forces from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank or re-call soldiers. Reserves who were discharged.
Dafouri stressed the need to prevent the outbreak of violence that might result from what is happening in Al-Aqsa Mosque, pointing out that one of the reasons for the Hamas attack on October 7 was the violation of the sanctity of the holy places by Israeli officials, in reference to Ben Gvir entering Al-Aqsa Mosque.
These warnings came after Ben Gvir called on Friday for a complete ban on the entry of Palestinians from the West Bank into Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.
Since the beginning of the devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israel has limited Palestinian access to Al-Aqsa Mosque - especially on Friday - in parallel with the escalation of incursions carried out by its forces in the West Bank.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies