by The Israeli government was locked in a debate Monday over whether to increase restrictions on Muslim access to a major mosque complex in Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan, leading to predictions of unrest if the limits are enforced.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that a decision had already been made, without revealing what it was. But two officials briefed on the deliberations, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said a final decision would be made only after the government received recommendations from security services in the coming days.
On Sunday, Israeli cabinet ministers debated whether to ban some members of Israel’s Arab minority from attending prayers on the grounds of the Aqsa Mosque, a holy site for both Muslims and Jews, during Ramadan, according to the two officials.
Israel has long limited access to Al Aqsa for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and, since the start of the war in Gaza, has imposed additional restrictions on Arab citizens and residents of Israel. Some had expected those limits to be largely lifted for Ramadan, which is expected to begin around March 10, but there is now talk of raising them.
Dan Harel, former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli army, said in a radio interview that such a move would be “unnecessary, foolish and meaningless” and could “ignite the entire Muslim world.” An Israeli Arab lawmaker, Waleed Alhwashla, said on social media that it would be “likely to add unnecessary fuel to the fire of violence.”
In Muslim tradition, it is from the Al Aqsa complex that the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, and tens of thousands of Muslims visit the mosque every day during Ramadan. For Jews, it is revered as the Temple Mount because in ancient times it was the site of two Jewish temples that remain central to Jewish identity.
It has also been a flashpoint for unrest.
Israeli police raids on the site, riots by Palestinian youth and visits by far-right Jewish activists have often been a catalyst for broader violence, including a brief war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.
The debate over new restrictions on the mosque grounds for worshipers under a certain age came as the repercussions of the war in Gaza continued to be felt across the region on Monday.
In the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, the crew of a cargo ship was forced to abandon ship after it was attacked by members of the Houthi militia, who have been firing missiles at ships there and in the Gulf of Aden in what they say is solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. The attack on the British-owned ship, the Rubymar, appeared to be one of the most damaging by the Houthis so far.
Most of the group’s missile and drone attacks on ships have failed to cause serious damage, but Monday night’s attack, with two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Yemen, was enough to drive out the crew, according to the U.S. military. ship’s. . A warship that is part of a U.S.-led coalition responded to a distress call and another merchant ship took the crew to a nearby port, Central Command said in a statement.
In retaliatory strikes, the US-led coalition has repeatedly attacked missiles and launchers in Yemen and intercepted drones and missiles, but has so far failed to stop the attacks. The United States attacked five Houthi targets, including an underwater drone, over the weekend. And on Monday, the European Union Announced that it would launch its own operation to accompany the ships and protect them from attacks.
In the southern Gaza Strip, where Israeli troops were about to extend their invasion, patients were being evacuated from a hospital that Israel claims has been used to conceal Hamas military operations. Hamas has denied those accusations.
On Monday, the hospital, Nasser Medical Center, was little more than a shelter for a small, terrified group of staff and remaining patients. Dozens of people were evacuated from the hospital on Sunday and Monday, and the United Nations said negotiations were continuing for the Israeli military to allow more people to leave.
The exodus was sparked by a raid last week by Israeli troops who entered the hospital and detained what Israel said were hundreds of people. Thousands of displaced Palestinians were evacuated before and during the raid, leaving 15 health workers and more than 150 patients trapped inside with little food, few medical supplies and no running water or electricity, the World Health Organization said on Monday. Health.
The war began on October 7 after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing, according to the Israelis, about 1,200 people. In Israel’s ground and air attack on Hamas forces in Gaza that followed, more than 29,000 residents of the enclave were killed, Gaza health officials say.
The move to impose more restrictions on the Jerusalem mosque was pushed through the Israeli cabinet by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, who has long pushed for greater Jewish control over the site and less access. Muslim to him. In recent days, he warned that Muslim worshipers could use the mosque to show their support for Hamas.
Analysts say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears angering Ben-Gvir because his ruling coalition depends on his support. But Arab leaders, as well as some Jewish Israelis, have warned that by allowing Ben-Gvir to dictate policy at the mosque, Netanyahu could inflame an already volatile situation.
Ramadan has been a critical time for tensions between Israelis and Palestinians over the years, and on Sunday a member of Israel’s war cabinet, Benny Gantz, set the holy month as a deadline for the release of Israeli hostages. in Gaza, warning that fighting would continue. in Rafah, along the border with Egypt, if the captives were not freed.
The looming battles in Rafah have raised fears of a greater humanitarian catastrophe among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees crammed into the area.
Thomas Fuller, Gabby Sobelman and Myra Noveck contributed reports.
