In an unprecedented move, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led a group of Jewish worshipers in prayer atop the Temple Mount on Sunday as he marked Tisha B’Av — the first time that a government minister has overtly worshipped at the flashpoint site in violation of the status quo.

A record 3,500-plus Jewish pilgrims were said to visit the site in the course of the fast day.

The Temple Mount, which was the site of the Jewish Temples and today houses the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine, has been one of the most volatile flashpoints in the Middle East. Ben Gvir’s actions immediately drew sharp condemnations from the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement in response to Ben Gvir’s visit, insisting that “Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will not change.”

Since first receiving the national security portfolio in 2022, the ultranationalist politician has continuously asserted that his policy is to allow Jewish prayer atop the Temple Mount, flouting the longtime status quo between Israel and Jordan, which administers the site through the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. According to the unwritten agreement, Jews are permitted to visit the site but are forbidden from praying there.

Ben Gvir brazenly violated this understanding on Sunday while leading aloud the recitation of the “Amida” prayer for dozens of other Jews observing Tisha B’Av, a fast day marking the destruction of both Jewish Temples located atop the Temple Mount in ancient times.

Though the Waqf governs the complex itself, its entrances are manned by Israeli police and Border Police officers.

The minister, who oversees the police, was flanked by officers while entering and touring the site. Police detained an Arab man who had shouted at Ben Gvir and his group of worshipers, reported Israeli news channel Arutz 7.

Before Ben Gvir became national security minister, the Israel Police had often ejected or detained Jewish visitors caught praying on the Temple Mount. But this policy has fallen to the wayside over the past three years as officers became increasingly tolerant of limited, discreet prayer.

The number of Jewish pilgrims who ascended the Mount to mark Tisha B’Av rose 32% from its previous record, with 3,527 total visitors, according to the Temple Mount Administration group, which facilitates Jewish visits to the flashpoint site.

A spokesman for the organization told The Times of Israel that he was unaware of any Jewish worshipers who were arrested. Police did not respond to a request for comment.

תיעוד מהר הבית: בן גביר הוביל את התפילה, עשרות רקדו ושרו

https://t.co/5OEwX8dJ5a

— ערוץ 7 (@arutz7heb) August 3, 2025

Ben Gvir was not the only politician to go up to the holy site in honor of the fast day. He was accompanied by Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, a member of his ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party.

Likud MK Osher Shekalim also visited, prostrating at the site and later tweeting a photo of himself splayed out on the ground in devotion. “God willing, we will be worthy of and work for full sovereignty and redemption — on the Temple Mount and throughout all the Land of Israel,” he posted.

Amit Halevi, another Likud lawmaker, was filmed alongside several other Jewish Israelis singing the “Hatikvah” national anthem while holding Israeli flags in front of the steps leading up to the Dome of the Rock.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed that Israel would strengthen its hold on the holy site “forever.”

On X, Katz shared images of himself visiting the Western Wall and posing with IDF soldiers, stating that he prayed for the return of hostages, peace for Israeli communities, the defense of security forces and the defeat of Hamas.

“On Tisha B’Av, two thousand years after the destruction of the Second Temple, the Western Wall and the Temple Mount are again under the sovereignty of the State of Israel,” he wrote.

“Israel haters around the world continue to make decisions against us and protest, and we will strengthen our hold and sovereignty over Jerusalem, at the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount, forever,” he added.

עוד לא אבדה תקוותנו: עשרות שנים לאחר שחרור ירושלים, לראשונה שירת התקווה בהר הבית עם דגלי ישראל. בין המשתתפים – ח"כ עמית הלוי.

— חנן גרינווד (@hanan_green) August 3, 2025

After leading morning prayers, Ben Gvir stood in front of the Dome of the Rock, demanding Israel enforce “sovereignty and governance” on the Temple Mount.

He said “Hamas’ horrific videos” — the harrowing footage released by the terror group in recent days of hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David — were meant to exert pressure on Israel.

“From here in particular, we must send a message that today, we are already occupying all of the Gaza Strip, declaring sovereignty across the entire Gaza Strip, eliminating every Hamas member and encouraging voluntary emigration [of Gazans]. Only in this way will we return the hostages and achieve victory in the war,” he declared to the camera.

Ben Gvir has gone onto the Temple Mount many times in highly-publicized visits since joining Netanyahu’s current government, but Sunday marked the first time he — or any minister — has overtly prayed there in a minyan, a quorum of 10 Jewish men.

The firebrand politician’s insistence on encouraging prayer on the Temple Mount has in the past prompted alarmed responses from Netanyahu, usually quick to disavow his coalition partner’s remarks and insist that the status quo has not changed.

In addition, many Jewish religious authorities have historically proscribed visits to the Temple Mount, due to concerns of treading on holy ground while ritually impure.

Changes to the Temple Mount’s status quo evoke strong emotions and are frequently cited as a Muslim motivation for religious violence. The site is of central importance to Hamas, which termed its October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.”

Ben Gvir’s visit sparked condemnation from the Palestinian Authority, as a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas said it “crossed all red lines.”

“The international community, specifically the US administration, must intervene immediately to put an end to the crimes of the settlers and the provocations of the extreme right-wing government in Al-Aqsa Mosque, stop the war on the Gaza Strip and bring in humanitarian aid,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh in a statement.

Jordan, which acts as the site’s custodian, condemned the minister’s visit as “an unacceptable provocation, and a reprehensible escalation.”

The Jordanian statement noted that police had escorted the minister as he toured the site and stressed that  Israel has “no sovereignty over the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Saudi Arabia also condemned the move, charging that such practices “fuel conflict in the region.”