Don't come to Al-Aqsa Mosque: Palestinians warn Israeli minister planning visit
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Ramallah/Gaza: Amidst reports of a planned visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Palestinian officials and factions have issued warnings against the move.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest shrine of Islam, after Masjid Al-Haram in Makka and Masjid Annabawi in Madina.
Israeli media reported on Sunday that Ben Gvir informed the police that he intends to enter the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the current week, the first for an Israeli Minister in nearly five years, reports Xinhua news agency.
Hussein Al-Sheikh, Secretary General of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a statement that "Ben-Gvir's threat to storm Al-Aqsa as security minister is the pinnacle of blatant and shameless defiance".
In Gaza, the Islamic Resistance Movement said in a press statement that the escalation against Al-Aqsa Mosque represents a detonator, warning the Israeli government would bear the consequences.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad Movement in Gaza said in a statement that Ben Gvir's entry into Al-Aqsa Mosque would "open the door to an open uprising".
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and both Jews and Muslims revere the precincts as sacred.