Saudi Arabia has accused Israel’s ultranationalist national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of making “extremist and inflammatory statements”, after he expressed support for the idea of building a synagogue at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque.
The hilltop compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, is one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East, where confrontations have ignited broader conflicts, such as the Palestinian uprising known as the second intifada and an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.
Under the fragile “status quo” arrangement, only Muslims are allowed to pray at the compound. But since taking office in 2022, Ben-Gvir has repeatedly insisted that Jews should be able to pray there, a demand he repeated on Monday.