After the far-right Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates called for a meeting of the UN Security Council, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed its scheduled visit to Abu Dhabi.
The Israeli PM’s visit to the Arab country was scheduled amid increasing efforts of strengthening ties between the two countries since UAE recognised Israel as a state.
On Tuesday morning, Ben Gvir stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli police, for the first time since his assumption of the position of the Ministry of National Security.
UAE, China call for UN meeting over Al Aqsa Mosque
In this regard, the UAE, along with China, asked the UN Security Council to meet to discuss the recent developments in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Reuters quoted diplomats as saying that the UAE and China had asked the United Nations Security Council to meet publicly, probably Thursday, January 5.
The UAE strongly condemned the storming of an Israeli minister into the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with the protection of the Israeli forces.
“The ministry underscored the need to respect the custodial role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan over the holy sites and endowments in accordance with international law and the historical situation at hand, and not to compromise the authority of the Jerusalem Endowment Administration and Al Aqsa Mosque,” officials said.
Netanyahu postpones his visit to the UAE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed his visit to the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, scheduled for next week, to a later time that has not yet been determined, according to an Israeli newspaper.
The Times of Israel quoted an unnamed official as saying that “Netanyahu’s visit to Abu Dhabi will not take place next week due to the need for longer logistical preparations.”
The official denied the connection between the postponement of the visit and the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, storming the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque earlier today, Tuesday, which drew condemnation from the UAE and Gulf, Arab and Islamic countries.
The same newspaper had reported, earlier, that Netanyahu plans to officially visit the UAE next week, for the first time after the normalization of relations between the two countries in the summer of 2020.
Calling the Israeli ambassador to Jordan
The step that Ben Gvir took to storm Al-Aqsa also caused Arab reactions, as the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Israeli ambassador to Amman, on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement, in which it indicated that it had summoned the Israeli ambassador to its headquarters “to convey a message of protest about the Israeli Minister of National Security’s storming of the blessed Al- Aqsa Mosque / Al-Qudsi Al-Sharif,” according to the official Jordanian News Agency.
