Israeli and Palestinian envoys accuse each other at UN Security Council for visiting holy site

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Israeli and Palestinian delegates traded accusations at a UN Security Council meeting over a visit to a Muslim holy site in Jerusalem by an ultra-nationalist Israeli minister.

The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss tensions in Jerusalem.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new Israeli cabinet, visited Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, on Tuesday. The site is also a holy place for Jews, and is called the Temple Mount.

A status quo rule allows only Muslim worship within the compound. In 2000, a visit by an Israeli opposition party leader to the site triggered major protests by Palestinians, who clashed with Israeli security forces.

The UNSC meeting was held at the request of Palestine and Arab countries, under the chairmanship of Japan.

Participants at the meeting called for restraint on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides.

The Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, harshly criticized the intransigent position of the Israeli government. Mansour urged the council to take action on this. The envoy asked the chairman of the meeting, Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Ishikane Kimihiro, when he would do so.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, accused the Palestinians of inciting violence. Erdan criticized the UNSC for holding the emergency meeting, arguing that the council should instead discuss other global issues such as the war in Ukraine.

Japan is a non-permanent member of the council for two years from 2023 and is its chair this month.

Diplomatic observers see Japan’s role as difficult, as the world body has been dysfunctional in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.

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