A United Nations Security Council Called Over Al-Aqsa Mosque

The UAE and China express their concern as an Israeli minister enters a mosque courtyard in occupied East Jerusalem.

The United Arab Emirates and China requested a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday after Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem amid warnings of unrest.

According to the Latest News of diplomats, the Council will meet on Thursday.

The visit drew universal criticism, with the United States, Israel's closest ally, expressing deep concern about the recent developments.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said it "strongly condemns the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir and views it as an unprecedented provocation and a dangerous escalation of the conflict".

Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Ben-Gvir of staging the visit to convert the shrine "into a Jewish temple," a goal shared by many on Israel's far right.

Netanyahu's planned visit to the UAE next week was postponed until February, according to Israeli media, though sources close to the Israeli leader denied it had anything to do with the Al-Aqsa incident.

"The United States is adamant about preserving the historic status quo with regard to the holy sites in Jerusalem."

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa is the third holiest site in the world. Jews, for their part, refer to the area as the Temple Mount, claiming that it once housed two Jewish temples.

During the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Aal-Aqsa is located. In 1980, it annexed the entire city, a move that was never recognized by the international community.