Maldives condemns Israeli minister's Al Aqsa Mosque visit

Maldives has condemned the move by Israel’s new far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who made a controversial visit to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.

In a statement, the Maldives foreign ministry said Thursday that the Maldives is participating in the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) efforts at the United Nations as the move will destabilise the situation in the Middle East.

The Maldives will participate in the UN debate on the situation in the Middle East on January 18, the ministry added.

"The Maldives continues to advocate for the liberation of Palestinian lands occupied by Israel in violation of international law and the protection of the rights of the Palestinian people. The Maldives will not hesitate to raise its voice for the Palestinian people," the statement said.

United Nation’s Security Council members voiced concern and stressed the need to maintain the status quo at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, but did not commit to any action days after Israel’s new far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir made a controversial visit to the site, which Palestinian leaders called “an unprecedented provocation”.

The decades-old status quo at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound allows only Muslim worship at the site, which is Islam’s third-holiest after Mecca and Medina.

But the site is also revered by Jews, who call it the Temple Mount. Israel’s far-right groups have long attempted to change the status quo and allow Jewish prayer at the site. Calls have also been made by the far right for a Jewish temple to be built in place of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour pushed for the Security Council on Thursday to take action against Israel over Ben-Gvir’s provocative actions. Israel’s new security minister is well known for racist incitement against Arabs, opposition to Palestinian statehood, and for leading raids by settlers into the Al Aqsa Mosque compound and the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem.