UK minister 'briefly blocked from al-Aqsa access' during Jerusalem visit

UK Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad was briefly blocked from visiting the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem by Israeli police on Thursday morning, during a controversial first visit by a leading British official since Israel's new extremist government coalition took office. 

Lord Tareq Ahmed of Wimbledon, a practicing Muslim, was temporarily denied entry to the mosque compound by security forces and forced to wait outside for half an hour before being allowed in. 

After being given access to the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, Lord Ahmad met Palestinian officials from the Awqaf department which manages the sacred site. The mosque is officially administered by Jordan.

He also took part in duha prayers alongside Palestinians at the holy site. 

An honour & privilege to spend time at the holy Al Aqsa Mosque this morning with the Director of Jerusalem Waqf Department Sheikh Azzam Al Khatib.

I emphasised the UK’s 🇬🇧 unwavering support for Jordanian Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Holy Sites & for the Status Quo. pic.twitter.com/8Q1LM4qqsm

— Lord (Tariq)Ahmad of Wimbledon (@tariqahmadbt) January 12, 2023

Lord Ahmad did not immediately respond to The New Arab’s request for comment, but had already played down the disruption, saying it was part of "security checks". 

The UK minister is currently visiting Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. 

 "Lord Ahmad will visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) to understand the challenges facing Palestinians, reinforcing the importance of the bilateral relationship and see first-hand the impact of UK development and humanitarian support in the West Bank," a press release read. 

Ahmad has faced criticism from UK bodies for meeting with Israeli ministers, facing accusations of "cosying up" to the country's new extreme right-wing government. 

On Wednesday, Lord Ahmad met Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen and Economy Minister Nir Barakat.

Caabu Director @Doylech slams the British government for turning blind eye to racist positions of new Israeli governmenthttps://t.co/aXCIGOoHMW

— Caabu (@Caabu) January 12, 2023

"This cosying up process contines whilst the Israeli government... is proposing to push forward with major settlement projects including legalisation of outposts," said the director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), Chris Doyle.

"Rather than making new deals we should be seeing a British government... saying that pushing forward with these illegal actions would actually carry consequences."

Israel's new government includes a collection of far-right figures including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has made violently racist statements against Palestinians in the past.