(JNS) National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ascended the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Wednesday, May 22, his first trip in nearly a month to the site.

“From the holiest place for the people of Israel and which belongs only to the State of Israel, I say: Tonight we will receive another testimony as to why Hamas must be totally destroyed. The countries that recognized a Palestinian state today are giving a reward to the terrorists,” he said in a video from atop the mount.

“And I say, we will not allow even a declaration of a Palestinian state. And I say one more thing: To destroy Hamas, we have to go into Rafah to the end, do a root canal. To return our hostages, we need to stop the [supply of fuel to the Gaza Strip] fuel, establish that humanitarianism is only for humanitarianism. And control this place, the most important place.”