A minister from Israel's ultranationalist movement visits the Temple Mount

    Tuesday marked the first occasion an ultranationalist cabinet member had visited a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem since joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new far-right coalition last week. Palestinians view the visit as provocative.

A 15-year-old kid was reportedly killed by Israeli army fire earlier in the day close to the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to Palestinian sources. According to the Israeli military, an individual engaged in violent altercations with soldiers was shot by Israeli forces.

Itamar Ben-Gvir was accompanied by a large number of police officers when he visited the area in Jerusalem known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Egypt and Jordan, two of Israel's Arab neighbors, condemned the action, and the U.S. ambassador chastised it.

Ben-Gvir has long advocated for increased Jewish access to the holy place, which Palestinians consider provocative and a possible sign that Israel will eventually seize control of the area. The majority of rabbis discourage Jews from praying there, although there is a rising group of Jews who advocate worship there in recent years.

Ambassador Thomas Nides "has been quite clear in meetings with the Israeli government on the topic of protecting the status quo in Jerusalem's holy sites," according to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Anything done to stop that is unacceptable.

Ben-visit Gvir's was denounced by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the guardian of the contentious shrine, in "the strongest terms." Egypt issued a warning about the "unfavorable effects of such measures on security and stability in the occupied areas and the region, as well as on the future of the peace process."

Hamas, an Islamic militant organization, issued threats after Ben-Gvir said earlier this week that he intended to visit the location.

After his visit, Ben-Gvir posted on Twitter that the location was "open to all" and that "things have changed," adding that "if Hamas believes that threatening me will discourage me, they should understand that times have changed."

Ben-entry Gvir's into the location on Tuesday, according to a spokesman for Hamas named Hazem Qassem, was "a continuation of the Zionist occupation attack on our hallowed locations and war on our Arab identity."

He declared, "Our Palestinian people will continue to defend their holy sites and the Al-Aqsa mosque."

Ben-departure, Gvir's according to Ofir Gendelman, the longtime Arabic-speaking spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has left the holy site in "totally tranquil" condition.

The hilltop shrine is a powerful symbol for the Palestinians and the third holiest place in Islam. It is situated on a broad esplanade that is also considered to be the Temple Mount by Jews because it was formerly the site of two Jewish temples in antiquity.

In the 1967 Middle East conflict, Israel took control of the historic Old City of Jerusalem, which contains the holies of the three monotheistic religions. It also took control of the rest of east Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. In order to create a future independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital, the Palestinians want those regions. Israel claims east Jerusalem to be its undivided, everlasting capital after annexing it in a move that was largely ignored by the international community.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is centered on rival claims to the location, which has in the past led to repeated outbreaks of violence.

Ben-Gvir is the leader of the Jewish Power ultranationalist religious faction and has a history of making incendiary statements and acting violently with Palestinians.

Yair Lapid, the head of the opposition and the former prime minister of Israel until last week, had earlier spoken out against Ben-planned Gvir's visit, claiming it would "spur violence that will risk human lives and cost human lives."

After months of escalating hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians, he visited. The Israeli rights organization B'Tselem claimed on Monday that 2022 would surpass 2004 as the bloodiest year for Palestinians since the start of the Palestinian uprising. According to the report, Israeli fire killed close to 150 Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Since a wave of Palestinian attacks against Israelis last spring that resulted in the deaths of 19, the Israeli military has been conducting raids into Palestinian communities and towns almost every day. At least nine more Israelis were slain in a new round of attacks in the fall.

Adam Ayyad, 15, died from a bullet wound to the chest in the shooting incident on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. According to the Israeli military, Border Police officers were attacked in the nearby Dheisha refugee camp. It was established that a person was shot and that forces fired at individuals throwing firebombs.

The majority of Palestinians slain, according to the Israeli army, were militants. But there have also been deaths among adolescents throwing stones in protest of the intrusions and unrelated individuals.