Israel's hardline and very controversial National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has stirred Palestinian and international outrage once again, this time by by leading prayers marking a Jewish holiday inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, accompanied by over 1,000 Israeli settlers.
Israeli authorities have long had a ban on non-Muslims conducting religious events or displaying religious symbols inside the compound, even though they are permitted to visit the mosque, which is Islam's third holiest site behind Mecca and Medina.
But Ben Gvir's entry happened under the protection of Israeli police. At the same time, local media showed Muslim worshippers being blocked from seeking to access the mosque while the Jewish settler groups were present. Past events like this led to outbreaks of severe clashes between Palestinians and police, and violence between the Israeli and Muslim groups.
A Muslim official who oversees the Al-Aqsa compound told AFP: "Minister Ben Gvir, instead of maintaining the status quo at the mosque is supervising the Judaization operation and trying to change the situation inside Al-Aqsa mosque."
This happened on the Jewish mourning day of Tisha Be’Av which commemorates the destruction of the ancient temple. The whole area is often referred to as Temple Mount, given it is where the ancient second Jewish Temple stood. The Western Wall is sacred to the Jews, while Al-Aqsa Mosque was erected above it under the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik in the 7th-8th centuries A.D.
Some reports have put the number of Jews who breached the compound alongside Ben Gvir at over 2,200. They were filmed performing Talmudic rituals once inside, while police kept any onlooking Palestinians from getting close to the group.
Ben Gvir subsequently released a video on social media sites of him issuing declarations that Israel will win the war in Gaza while standing just outside Al-Aqsa Mosque.
"We must win this war. We must win and not go to the talks in Doha or Cairo," he said in reference to ongoing but largely stalled ceasefire talks with Hamas. "We can defeat Hamas.. we must bring them down to their knees," he added.
Moderates within the Israeli government, especially Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, have lately openly clashed with both PM Netanyahu and hardliners like Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Several scandals have been dominating Israeli media of late, including the following:
Israel's military prosecution requested that five Israeli soldiers accused of gang-raping a Palestinian detainee in Sde Teiman detention camp be released to house arrest while the investigation continues, the Times of Israel reports.
The request would keep the soldiers in detention until 22 August.
The house arrest is reportedly part of an agreement between the defence and the prosecution which will be presented to judges at a military court during a remand hearing later on Tuesday.
The hardliner camp has been outraged that the troops have been arrested, and have been vocal in saying there are 'no rules' when it comes to treatment of suspected terrorists.
Additionally the defense ministry has been vocal in saying that the total eradication of Hamas, which Netanyahu has been strongly pushing for, will ultimately be impossible and that doing a deal to get back the remaining hostages should be a top priority.