UN Security Council Meeting Today To Debate Ben-Gvir’s Temple Mount Visit

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency session this afternoon to debate Tuesday’s visit to the flashpoint Temple Mount site in Jerusalem by far-right Israeli government minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir, the National Security Minister made his early morning visit to the site, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims, despite warnings from Hamas, the armed Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza. The formal request for the session came from the United Arab Emirates and China, acting on behalf of the Palestinians and Jordanians. In an interview on Army Radio this morning, US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said that the US is concerned about “actions that are obviously provocative,” a reference to Ben-Gvir’s Temple Mount visit. “We support maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount, period, full stop,” he also said. Israel is concerned the US could sign off on a UNSC statement condemning Israel and calling for maintaining the status quo, which would represent a diplomatic blow. On Wednesday, the UN ambassadors from Arab countries met for discussions ahead of today’s emergency meeting. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will delay his scheduled upcoming trip to the United Arab Emirates, which Israel established diplomatic relations with as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords, due to the current tensions sparked by Ben-Gvir’s Temple Mount visit.