Ben Gvir storms Al Aqsa as tensions soar across Arabia

Muhammad Amin

Tensions across Arabia have shot through the roof Tuesday amid a provocative raid on Al Aqsa compound by settlers led by right-wing holocaust advocate Itamar Ben Gvir.
The invasion is a flagrant dismissal of repeated rulings by the International Court of Justice against genocidal acts and statements by Israel’s politicians. Also ignoring the court’s rulings that Israeli police are supposed to protect Palestinians’ rights, Tuesday’s attack is happening under police protection, Wafa news agency reports.
The Al Aqsa Masjid Waqf said over 1,200 settlers raided the compound while police interfered with Palestinians wishing to worship at the masjid.
National Security Minister Ben Gvir was accompanied by Jewish National Front minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf and over 1 000 settlers.
They claimed they were marking the annual Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the twofold destruction of their temples.
The invasion followed hard on the heels of a telephone conversation between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in which they discussed the need to de-escalate tensions in Arabia.
A spokesperson for Fidan said the foreign minister urged the US to put pressure on Israel to secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to refrain from provoking tensions.
Fidan said Israel must avoid “provocative actions” that could escalate tensions in the region while Hamas had shown a “constructive attitude” in previous truce talks.
Ben Gvir and his settlers either did not get the memo or are deliberately trying to provoke a clash with Iran in the hope of drawing the US into a “do-or-die” conflict with Teheran.
Al Mayadeen reports Fidan added that Israel’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and the “ongoing massacre against Palestinians once again demonstrated Israel’s lack of willingness to establish peace”.
Tensions are at breaking point across Arabia where a small miscalculation, one misstep or an unintended consequence could spark a regional tragedy.
As the Al Aqsa invasion unfolded, news emerged Hamas had turned its guns on its Israeli captives seized on Octobers 7.
Reuters reports Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida said guards had separately shot dead one Israeli captive and injured two others in apparent escape attempts.
Abu Obeida said one Israeli hostage was killed by his guard and two other female captives were seriously wounded in two separate incidents in Gaza.
Abu Obeida added, that attempts to save their lives were underway and that a committee has been formed to investigate.
He blamed the killing of the hostage on “Israeli massacres against Palestinians”.
“The enemy government (Israel) bears full responsibility for these massacres and the resulting reactions that affect the lives of Zionist prisoners,” Abu Obeida said in a statement on Telegram.