The Biden administration holds Israel responsible for maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount and any steps that undermine it are unacceptable, United States Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.
“We oppose any and all unilateral actions that depart from the historic status quo, which are unacceptable,” Wood said.
He noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing platform “calls for preservation of the status quo with relation to the holy places. We expect the Government of Israel to follow through on that commitment.”The United States firmly supports the preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem, especially on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount,” Wood explained.
“We oppose any and all unilateral actions that depart from the historic status quo, which are unacceptable."
Robert Wood
He spoke at a special meeting held to condemn National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s 13 minute visit Tuesday to the Al Aksa mosque compound on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount in the Old City, a move with the international community has viewed as a violation of the status quo there.
Under the terms of that status quo, anyone can visit but only Muslims can pray there. The ancient site is Judaism’s holiest site and is the third most important one for Muslims.
Israel has insisted that Ben Gvir’s visit was not a violation of the status quo, but in New York the 15 member body said that it felt otherwise.
Wood underscored that “it’s absolutely critical for all sides to exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric, at the Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount and other holy sites in Jerusalem, both in word and in practice.”He also acknowledged the “special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as custodian of Jerusalem’s holy sites.”The meeting adjourned without any vote or the issuance of any statement on the matter.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said that the issue was antisemitism because what bothered the Palestinians and the Muslims was that Jews had set foot on the site, even though it was where their Temple had stood in biblical times.
“The Palestinians have turned the Temple Mount into a battle ground time and again,” Erdan said. “The mosques are used as arsenals where terrorists keeps rocks and explosives to attack Jewish visitors and security forces,” he added.
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