UAE, China ask UN Security Council to meet over Al Aqsa mosque - diplomats

A visitor takes a picture next to the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The United Arab Emirates and China have asked the U.N. Security Council to meet publicly, likely on Thursday, over recent developments at Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, diplomats said on Tuesday.

Israel's new far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir briefly visited Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Tuesday, a site also revered by Jews, angering the Palestinians and drawing a slew of condemnations.

(Reporting by Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Kanishka Singh)