Israel condemned Thursday an emergency session by the United States Security Council over far-Right Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to the Temple Mount earlier in the day.
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Speaking at a press briefing, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said he was "truly shocked" that the meeting was called.
"There is absolutely no reason that this emergency session should be held," he said. "To hold it on a non-event is truly absurd. Why are we holding an emergency session for something as simple as a Jew walking to the holiest site in Judaism?"
Erdan further pointed to major events going on elsewhere in the world – like the Ukraine war and the protests in Iran – which he suggested the council was not responding to nor holding emergency sessions for, claiming there was a double standard when it comes to Israel. He also stressed that Ben-Gvir's 13-minute visit was non-violent and within the status quo and his right as a Jew.
"Israel has not harmed the status quo and has no plans to do so," he said. "The only side that is changing the status quo is the Palestinian Authority. Why? Because by turning the site into a battleground … the Palestinian Authority is making it clear that not only is Jewish prayer intolerable on the Temple Mount, but so is any Jewish presence."
"This is pure antisemitism," he added.
At the beginning of the emergency session, the United Arab Emirates condemned what it called was "a serious provocation that threatens the Al Aqsa Mosque," saying it "further destabilizes the fragile situation in the occupied Palestinian territories" and "constitutes a serious development that moves the region further away from the desired path of peace."
The US said it was "concerned by any unilateral acts that exacerbate tensions or undermine the viability of a two-state solution" and called on both sides to "exercise restraint and refrain from provocative rhetoric."
Ben-Gvir's visit was the first ascent to the Temple Mount by an Israeli government minister in five years. Although the holy site – where two Jewish temples stood – was visited by lawmakers in the past, it remains a flash point for escalations.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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