Netanyahu: The Status Quo on the Al-Aqsa Mosque Has Not Changed Despite Jewish Prayers There

SadaNews - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed today, Sunday, during the cabinet session, that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is not making any changes to the "status quo" (Status Quo) at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

This comes despite repeated statements by Ben Gvir in which he explicitly announced the allowance of Jewish prayers at the Al-Aqsa compound, in addition to permitting Jews to prostrate within the mosque courtyards under his policies, in a clear violation of what is known as the "status quo".

The weekly cabinet session held today witnessed sharp tensions between Netanyahu and representatives of the government's legal advisor, following the latter's stance calling for the dismissal of the extremist minister due to his interference in the police's powers and operations.

During the session, Netanyahu told the deputy legal advisor, Gil Lemon, in response to the call for Ben Gvir's dismissal: "This will not happen".

The confrontation arose against the backdrop of the government legal advisor Gali Beharav-Miara's position, which stated that the Prime Minister should dismiss Ben Gvir due to his interference in police operations, harming their independence.

During the discussion, the government secretary, Yossi Fox, stated that "there is no precedent for dismissing a minister without bringing up charges against him, and this breaks all the rules and ends democracy." For his part, Ben Gvir reiterated his claims during the session regarding "extortion attempts" made against him.

In response, the deputy legal advisor, Gil Lemon, emphasized that "the police must be independent" and that Ben Gvir "harms that", adding that "his interference directly undermines the independence of the law enforcement agency".

Lemon cited as an example what occurred last night in the village of Tura Bin Saba, where citizen Muhammad Hussein Al-Turabi was shot dead by police, stating that Ben Gvir "did not verify the facts and rushed to offer full support to police officers, which constitutes interference in the investigation process".

Netanyahu responded to these remarks, saying: "This is simply embarrassing"—referencing the positions of the representatives of the public prosecution and the judiciary, which had stressed that Ben Gvir’s interventions in police operations undermine the foundations of his staying in office.

Ben Gvir claimed: "They tried to blackmail me. A person from the legal advisor’s circle threatened me: If I do not appoint a certain individual – we will dismiss you. And you, Gil Lemon, know who this person is".

The deputy legal advisor for the government, Lemon, replied: "What Ben Gvir says is a lie. We criticized the policy at the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque). The Prime Minister said there will be no change in the 'status quo', and Ben Gvir is making changes".

Netanyahu responded: "We said there is no change in the 'status quo'; the changes that Ben Gvir is making do not alter the status quo," and acknowledged that these changes that Ben Gvir is working to instill at the Al-Aqsa Mosque are carried out in coordination with him.

It is worth noting that the understandings of the "Status Quo" were established following the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, and according to them, Jews are allowed to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque but are not permitted to pray there. The Israeli police have prevented Jewish prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque according to instructions from the political level and have arrested any Jew, even if whispering a prayer.

In July 2024, Ben Gvir announced: "I am the political level, and the political level allows Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount." Nearly a month after Ben Gvir's announcement, dozens of Jews were documented prostrating inside the Al-Aqsa compound in front of police officers who did not take action, in a widening policy.

Disputes are escalating between the government and the legal advisor against the backdrop of political interventions in the police and law enforcement agencies' operations, within the broader context of the ongoing clash regarding the judiciary’s powers and the limits of political intervention.

Gali Beharav-Miara had sent a message to Netanyahu outlining her position on petitions calling for the termination of Ben Gvir's term, stressing that "the minister's overall conduct seriously undermines police operations, his powers’ limits, and the foundations on which the court's decision permitting his appointment was based".

The legal advisor indicated, in her professional opinion, that these developments impose on the Prime Minister "an urgent response" to the issue given new data revealing a pattern of substantive interventions and repeated practices considered "illegal" that harm the independence of the police force and the existing constitutional balance.