Ben Gvir.. A dance in Al-Aqsa and a threat in the cell
The article discusses Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and his dancing in its courtyards, and his threat to kill and execute Palestinian prisoner Hassan Salama inside his cell. The article links the two incidents as part of an integrated political project to redefine sovereignty by force, and to turn holy sites and prisoners into platforms for displaying power. It indicates that these actions aim to normalize provocation and break taboos, warning of international silence.
The article discusses two separate but interconnected incidents in the writer's view: first, Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque and dancing in its courtyards under police protection, a scene the article describes as moving beyond individual provocation towards redefining sovereignty by force. Second, Ben Gvir storming the cell of Palestinian prisoner Hassan Salama and threatening him with killing and execution, publishing a recording of it, and pledging to push for the implementation of the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners if he takes the defense portfolio. The article links the two incidents as part of a 'one-fist policy' seeking to control place (Al-Aqsa) and person (the prisoner). It warns of 'the engineering of sacred habituation' that turns stormings into a routine, and 'the theatricalization of punishment' that turns the threat into a political show. It notes that the timing of the threat's publication coincides with the intensification of Israeli political competition ahead of the October 27 elections, after the Knesset approved a law in March related to the death penalty for prisoners. The article conveys Jordan's warning against attempts to impose a temporal and spatial division in Al-Aqsa, and rejecting Arab and Islamic positions. It concludes by calling not to be satisfied with documenting the violation but to act to prevent provocation from becoming a norm.