France on Tuesday condemned Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for violating the status quo of Jerusalem's holy sites in storming Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque complex.
"This new provocation is unacceptable," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement, also calling on the Israeli government to "take all necessary measures to ensure respect for the status quo of the Holy Sites."
The statement also emphasized the "urgent" need to implement a two-state solution including the creation of a "sovereign" Palestinian state.
At least two Israeli Cabinet ministers on Tuesday joined hundreds of Israeli illegal settlers in storming the of Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem to mark a Jewish fast day.
According to Israeli news website Ynet, far-right National Security Minister Ben-Gvir, his fellow Otzma Yehudit party Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, and Knesset member of the Likud party Amit Halevi stormed into the complex to commemorate Tisha B'Av, a fast day marking the occurrence of disasters in Jewish history.
"Our policy is to allow (Jewish) prayer," Ynet cited Ben-Gvir as saying during his raid on the mosque.
