Israel accuses Hamas of inciting holy site violence
Foreign minister: Group’s plan is to set off conflict in region
JERUSALEM — Israel’s foreign minister on Sunday accused the Hamas militant group of orchestrating recent unrest at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, responding to criticism that Israeli police used heavyhanded tactics to quell the violence.
Yair Lapid made the comments following days of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians at the contested holy site, which is revered by Jews and Muslims.
The confrontations have come at a time of heightened tensions following a string of deadly attacks inside Israel, arrest raids in the occupied West Bank and rocket attacks into Israel launched from the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip.
Lapid accused Hamas of “hijacking” activities at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and encouraging young Palestinian men to throw stones and fireworks at Israeli security forces.
“They have done this to create the provocation to force the Israeli police to enter the mosque” and set off a regionwide conflict, he said.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam and an emotional symbol for the Palestinians. It is also the holiest site for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount because it was the location of the biblical Jewish Temples.
The competing claims to the site lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Palestinians have accused Israel of provoking the latest violence by allowing large numbers of Jewish pilgrims to visit the site. Last week, Jews celebrated Passover, a time when tens of thousands of people visit Jerusalem.
Under longstanding agreements, Jews are permitted to visit the compound, but they are barred from praying. But in recent years, an increasing number of religious extremists have begun to quietly pray, sometimes with Israeli police watching. The Palestinians fear such actions are part of an Israeli plot to take over or divide the site.
Lapid rejected such accusations, saying that Israel is committed to maintaining the “status quo” at the site.
He called on Israel’s allies in the Muslim world to “act against these fake news” and to help calm the situation.
Lapid also rejected suggestions that Israeli police have used excessive force to disperse the demonstrations at the Al-Aqsa site.
On Friday, Israeli riot police stormed the compound after Palestinian youths hurled stones at them. Palestinian social media have been filled with videos showing Israeli police hitting people with clubs and firing tear gas and stun grenades. Israeli police, meanwhile, released their own videos showing Palestinians in the mosque hurling stones and explosives.
After midday prayers on Friday, a small group of Palestinians waving Hamas flags marched in protest and tried to break into an empty police post inside the compound. Israeli police used a drone to drop tear gas on them, sending crowds scattering.
“During Ramadan, Israel ensured that hundreds of thousands of Muslims could go to the Temple Mount and pray at Al-Aqsa,” Lapid said. “Despite provocations by terrorist organizations, despite attempts to stoke violence: We have done, and continue to do everything to enable peaceful prayer.”
However, Israel has maintained restrictions that bar entry to the mosque for hundreds of thousands of Muslim Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel says such restrictions are a security measure.
In Cairo, the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates — three countries that have full diplomatic relations with Israel — met Sunday to discuss the tensions in Jerusalem.
A statement after the talks said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, called for calm.
They also urged Israel to “stop all measures that undermine the two-state solution,” and to find a way to return to negotiations with the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has ruled out peace talks and opposes Palestinian independence, but has pledged to reduce tensions by taking steps to improve living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum blamed Israel.
“The one who bears full responsibility for detonating the situation in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque is the occupation government, which brutally attacks defenseless worshippers on a daily basis... and tries to impose the project of Judaization,” he said.