(JNS) During a visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that despite Hamas threats, Israel remains sovereign of the holy site.

“I’m happy to go up to the Temple Mount, the most important place for the people of Israel,” he said in a statement. “It should be said that the police are doing a wonderful job here and once again prove who owns the [the Temple Mount] in Jerusalem. All the threats from Hamas will not help, we are the owners of Jerusalem and the whole Land of Israel.”

Around 1,200 Jews visited the Temple Mount on Thursday ahead of Yom Yerushalayim. Among those who visited the site were several Knesset members, including Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee Minister Yitzhak Shimon Wasserlauf of Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party.