Lapid accuses Arabs of ‘trying to hijack Al-Aqsa mosque’ to spark ‘violent conflict’

Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid strongly denied that Israel has changed a tenuous “status quo” on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and accused Arabs of violating the holy site throughout the Muslim month-long Ramadan festival, during a briefing with reporters on Sunday.

“In the past three weeks, there has been a dangerous effort underway in Jerusalem during Ramadan. Terrorist organizations have been trying to hijack the Al-Aqsa mosque in order to create an outbreak of violence in Jerusalem and from there a violent conflict across the country,” said Lapid. “Hamas and Islamic Jihad extremists burst into Al-Aqsa mosque in the early mornings, again and again. They brought weapons into the mosque. They threw rocks and explosives from within it and used it as a base to incite violent riots.”