At a Security Council meeting on Thursday, the envoys of Israel and Palestine hurled sharp jabs over a contentious visit by an Israeli minister to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.
At a heated UN meeting about the visit to Al-Aqsa, Israeli and Palestinian envoys argue
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, referred to the meeting as “pathetic” and “absurd,” while the Palestinian representative charged that Israel was acting “with total disrespect.”
Following a request by the United Arab Emirates and China, the 15-member Council met at UN headquarters in New York to consider the visit, which has infuriated Palestinians.
“To hold a Security Council session on a non-event is truly absurd,” he said.
Tuesday’s visit by Israel’s new national security minister, firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir, sparked a wave of international condemnation, including from the United States, a longstanding ally of Israel.
Al-Aqsa mosque lies in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and is the third-holiest site in Islam. It is the most sacred place to Jews, who refer to it as Temple Mount.
Under a longstanding status quo, non-Muslims can visit the site at specific times but are not allowed to pray there — although some Israeli nationalists are believed to do so covertly, which angers the Palestinians.
Erdan said Ben-Gvir’s visit was “in line with the status quo and whoever claims otherwise is only inflaming the situation.”
