Palestinian presidency condemns Ben Gvir's desire to build synagogue at Al-Aqsa

A spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency has described far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's desire to establish a synagogue inside Al-Aqsa Mosque as "very dangerous".

Earlier on Monday, Ben Gvir told Israel's army radio: "If I could do what I wanted, a synagogue would also be established on the Temple Mount [the Jewish name for the Al-Aqsa site]."

Palestinian presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that attempts to "tamper with Al-Aqsa" sought to drag the region into a "religious war". He said that the area, also referred to as Haram al-Sharif, belonged to Muslims only.

Abu Rudeineh called on Washington to urge Israel's far-right government to abide by the decades-long legal and historical status quo at the site in occupied East Jerusalem.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is an Islamic site where unsolicited visits, prayers and rituals by non-Muslims are forbidden, according to long-standing international agreements. 

Israeli groups, in coordination with authorities, have long violated the delicate arrangement and facilitated raids on the site and performed prayers and religious rituals.

Ben Gvir, and several other far-right politicians and members of Israel's government, have frequently joined the raids on Al-Aqsa.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Monday that there had been no change in the status quo.