Itamar Ben-Gvir is Israel's national security minister and lives in a West Bank settlement Ben-Gvir's portfolio puts him in charge of the Israel Border Police in the occupied West Bank
The 49-year-old entered parliament in 2022 and leads a far-right, anti-Arab party called "Otzma Yehudit" or Jewish Power
Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2007 of racist incitement and support for a group on both the Israeli and United States terrorism blacklists, according to Reuters
As a teenager, he was not drafted for compulsory military service in the Israeli army IDF because of his "extremist activities" the Times of Israel reported Ben-Gvir rose to prominence during his legal career for supporting activists suspected of terrorism and hate crimes.
"Ben-Gvir is the go-to man when it comes to Jewish extremists facing legal proceedings," the The Jerusalem Post wrote in a 2022 list of influential Israelis Last year, Ben-Gvir called for the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to be replaced with a synagogue
The compound is Islam's third-holiest site and Judaism's holiest place
according to Reuters, Ben-Gvir has repeatedly drawn the ire of the US over 1. his rejection of a political solution with the Palestinians 2. and his support for Jewish settlers who attack Palestinians in the occupied West Bank
