About 150 of the radical zealots associated with Israel’s two racist Cabinet Ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, attempted to ignite a major confrontation in the West Bank, by marching on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, demanding for the demolition of Islam’s third most holy site. They carried signs that read: “Coexistence with the enemy is impossible,” “We demand vengeance,” “A bullet in the head of every terrorist,” and “A D9 [bulldozer] on the Temple Mount is the true victory.”
The permission to conduct such a march at this time has all the hallmarks of the doings of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, the two ministers with the most say over Israeli rule of the West Bank, or what they call “Judea and Samariah.” During their first 12 months on the cabinet, they have pressured Israeli police and security officials to stand down and let violent “settlers,” armed with weapons from Ben-Gvir, carry out vigilante justice on their neighbors from Palestine.
