JERUSALEM, Jan 3, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Israel's extreme-right firebrand Itamar

Ben-Gvir visited Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound Tuesday for the first
time since becoming a minister, his spokesman said, enraging Palestinians who
see the move as a provocation.

"Our government will not surrender to the threats of Hamas," Ben-Gvir said in
a statement published by his spokesman, after the Palestinian militant group
warned such a move was a "red line".

Ben-Gvir's visit comes days after he took office as national security
minister, a position which gives him powers over the police.

Al-Aqsa mosque is the third-holiest place in Islam and the most sacred site
to Jews, who refer to the compound as the Temple Mount.

"The Temple Mount is the most important place for the people of Israel, and
we maintain the freedom of movement for Muslims and Christians, but Jews will
also go up to the mount, and those who make threats must be dealt with --
with an iron hand," he said.

Lying within Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the compound is administered by
the Waqf Islamic affairs council, with Israeli forces operating there and
controlling access.

Ben-Gvir has lobbied to overhaul management of the site to allow Jewish
prayer there, a move opposed by mainstream rabbinical authorities.

Waqf guards told AFP that Ben-Gvir was accompanied by units of the Israeli
security forces, while a drone hovered above the holy site.

After he left the site on Tuesday morning, visitors arrived at the plaza and
the situation remained quiet.

While Ben-Gvir has visited the compound numerous times since entering
parliament in April 2021, his presence as a top minister carries far greater
weight.

A controversial visit in 2000 by then opposition leader Ariel Sharon was one
of the main triggers for the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which
lasted until 2005.

- 'Serious threat' -

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned Ben-Gvir's visit as an
"unprecedented provocation and a serious threat to the arena of conflict".

Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, last week warned such a step would be "a
big red line and it will lead to an explosion".

Following Ben-Gvir's visit, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem deemed it a "crime"
and vowed the site "will remain Palestinian, Arab, Islamic".

Hamas rules the Gaza Strip and in May 2021 an 11-day war broke out in the
territory between Palestinian militants and Israel, after violence at Al-Aqsa
mosque.

Hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israeli police officers were wounded
in the preceding clashes across east Jerusalem, initially sparked by
restrictions on Palestinians gathering and possible evictions of residents.

During this period Ben-Gvir rallied his supporters at Israeli settler homes
in east Jerusalem, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day
War.

For years seen as a fringe figure, the Jewish Power leader entered mainstream
politics with the backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Ben-Gvir has advocated for Arab-Israelis deemed disloyal to the state to be
expelled and for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Until a few years ago he had a portrait in his living room of Baruch
Goldstein, who massacred 29 Palestinian worshippers at a Hebron mosque in
1994.

He launched his ministerial career on December 29, as part of Israel's most
right-wing government in history led by Netanyahu.