Israeli far-right minister visits contested Jerusalem holy site: media reports

JERUSALEM: Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Tuesday visited the compound that houses the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, a flashpoint holy site sacred to both Jews and Muslims, Israeli media reported.

The Ynet news website carried pictures of Ben-Gvir touring the site under heavy security.

Israel's opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid had warned that such a visit by Ben-Gvir would spark violence.

At the compound, Islam's third holiest site after Mecca and Medina and Judaism's most sacred as a vestige of its two ancient temples, only Muslim worship is allowed.