In a statement on Sunday, the Palestinian National Council, the Palestinians’ top decision-making body, decried the decision as a “crime” against mosques.
This is “a blatant assault on holy sites and religious practices, which are guaranteed by international and humanitarian laws, and a flagrant attempt to entrench racism,” it said.
“These practices represent an act of bullying against the true owners of the land, whom the occupation government seeks to marginalize and treat as a minority after forcibly displacing the vast majority of them from their homes and lands.”
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas slammed Ben-Gvir’s decision as a “serious crime and an attack on freedom of worship.”
Hamas called on Palestinians to “reject this criminal decision and take action to prevent the occupation authorities from tampering with our sacred sites and religious practices.”
It also urged the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and international organizations to “condemn this crime, take steps to stop the occupation’s violations against our people, and hold the occupation leaders accountable for their crimes against our sacred sites and the Palestinian people.”
Ben-Gvir has intensified his inflammatory rhetoric against Palestinians amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, where more than 44,400 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023.
The extremist minister advocated for the execution of Palestinian prisoners to alleviate prison overcrowding, describing the death penalty as a “partial solution” to the issue.
Ben-Gvir also called for the complete annexation of the occupied West Bank and the reestablishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, he expressed strong opposition to any hostage swap deals with Palestinian factions in Gaza, threatening to withdraw from the government coalition and topple it if such agreements were made.