Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visits Al-Aqsa compound also known to Jews as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City May 21, 2023. Minhelet Har-Habait, Temple Mount Administration/Handout via REUTERS.

The US State Department on Sunday issued a dual condemnation of Israel’s decision to allow settlers to permanently reside in the West Bank outpost of Homesh and of Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount.

“We are deeply troubled by the Israeli government’s order that allows its citizens to establish a permanent presence in the Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank, which according to Israeli law was illegally built on private Palestinian land,” said State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller. “This order is inconsistent with both former Prime Minister Sharon’s written commitment to the Bush Administration in 2004 and the current Israeli government’s commitments to the Biden Administration.”

Homesh was one of four settlements in the West Bank that were destroyed during then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s controversial withdrawal from Gaza and the northern West Bank in 2005. Since then, efforts to permanently repopulate Homesh have been illegal under Israeli law, but the Israeli military’s Central Command on Thursday signed an order allowing Israeli civilians to legally enter the outpost.

In repeating his condemnation of Israel’s actions at a press briefing on Monday, Miller said that despite the Obama administration’s refusal to adhere to President George W. Bush’s formulations to Sharon in his 2004 letter, the Biden Administration believes that Israel continues to be bound by Sharon’s promises to Bush about withdrawal from the four West Bank settlements, including Homesh.

“It is our view that the letter to which you referred has not been withdrawn and that the Israeli government has not withdrawn the obligations it made in its letter,” Miller said.

The order allowing Homesh’s repopulation was also condemned by the French Foreign Ministry on Monday, which said that a permanent settlement in Homesh would violate international law and was contrary to commitments Israel made at the Aqaba summit in February and the Sharm El-Sheikh summit in March, where Israel pledged not to authorize any outposts for 6 months.

The State Department also condemned Israeli National Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount on Sunday, his second as minister after a similarly controversial visit in January.

“We are also concerned by today’s provocative visit to the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif in Jerusalem and the accompanying inflammatory rhetoric,” Miller said. “This holy space should not be used for political purposes, and we call on all parties to respect its sanctity. More broadly, we reaffirm the longstanding U.S. position in support of the historic status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites and underline Jordan’s special role as custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.”

Under the status quo established after the Six-Day War, Jews are permitted to visit the Temple Mount, but not pray there, and Jordan is the administrative “custodian” of Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites, though Israel is responsible for their security.

During his visit, Ben-Gvir seemed to flout Jordan’s role in the status quo.

“We are in charge here,” he said on Sunday. “All of Hamas’ threats won’t help, we are in charge in Jerusalem and the entire land of Israel.”

Jordan on Monday called for an emergency session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in response. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Arab and Muslim countries similarly condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit.