Palestine accuses Israel of planning to turn al-Aqsa mosque into Jewish temple

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh cast a visit by a far-right Israeli official to a contested Jerusalem holy site on Tuesday as a bid to turn a major mosque there "into a Jewish temple".

Addressing his cabinet, Shtayyeh also called on Palestinians to "confront the raids into Al Aqsa mosque" after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir toured the periphery of the mosque compound. Ben-Gvir did not approach the mosque.

"Ben-Gvir's intrusion represents unprecedented provocation, a serious threat to the arena of conflict and a contempt to calls to stop" the visit, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry termed the far-right minister's tour as "a "legitimization of further incursions to Al-Aqsa Mosque by hardline settlers."

The ministry held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible "for this brazen assault on Al-Aqsa".

Early on Tuesday, Ben-Gvir entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, a day after announcing he postponed the visit amid warnings of unrest.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area as the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Ben-Gvir holds far-right views on the Palestinians and has called for their displacement. He has repeatedly joined Israeli settlers in storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem.

The far-right politician also caused a wave of escalation in the occupied city after setting up an office in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Last November, Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned in a leaked audio clip that "the whole world is worried" about Ben-Gvir's extremist views.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.