Itamar Ben-Gvir during his visit to the Temple Mount (documentation on social networks according to section 27A of the Copyright Law)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ascended the Temple Mount on Sunday morning, two days after Jerusalem Day. He declared that "in the coming budget, we must invest in the Negev and Galilee."
On Jerusalem Day, Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf of his party also visited the Temple Mount, as well as a number of Likud MKs, including Ariel Kelner, Dan Illouz and Amit Halevi. Their visit also sparked anger within the coalition, and Flag of the Torah Chairman MK Moshe Gafni publicly appealed to Prime Minister Netanyahu and demanded that he prevent such an aliyah, which he claimed constituted "blasphemy in a place most connected to the Jewish people and holiest for it." Ben-Gvir reiterated that "we are the landlords" and referred again to the state budget: "Jerusalem is our soul, the Negev and Galilee are our soul, we must invest, we must act there, we must also own the Negev, the Galilee as well, and the base is the budget."
Tag Meir attacked, "Ben-Gvir and a friend of his associates seek to change by force the status quo on the Temple Mount and set Jerusalem and the Middle East on fire," they said, "How long will we continue to pay the price of Ben-Gvir's irresponsible appointment as Minister of National Security of the State of Israel?"
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Ben-Gvir ascending to the Temple Mount today (Photo: official website, Temple Mount Administration)
The Knesset will vote this week on the state budget for 2024-2023, just days before the final deadline at the end of this month. So far, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not resolved the crisis with Otzma Yehudit and Agudat Israel, and the coalition believes that attempts at dialogue will continue until the last minute and in the end the budget will be approved by a majority vote.
Otzma Yehudit, Agudat Yisrael and Avi Maoz of the Noam party threaten not to support the budget. Agudat Israel Chairman Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf is demanding an additional half a billion shekels for ultra-Orthodox education, and Otzma Yehudit chairman, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is demanding additional budgets for the Negev and Galilee Ministry.
Ministers Goodknopf and Meir Frosh are demanding an additional NIS 600 million for Avrachim, yeshivas and educational institutions that teach core education only partially. One of the two is expected to resign from the government earlier this week if the crisis is not resolved, in order to return to the Knesset. Thus, Agudat Israel will be with four Knesset members and will be able to vote against the budget and threaten the integrity of the coalition.
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Tags
- Itamar Ben-Gvir
- Temple Mount
- State budget