Israeli ultranationalist minister visits Jerusalem holy site

By ILAN BEN ZION
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — An ultranationalist Israeli Cabinet minister has visited a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site for the first time since taking office in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new far-right government last week. Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound on Tuesday, flanked by a large contingent of police officers. The hilltop site in Jerusalem’s Old City is the emotional epicenter of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Earlier in the day, Palestinian officials said a 15-year-old boy was killed by Israeli army fire near the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem. The Israeli military did not immediately comment about the incident.