Status Quo Of Al Aqsa Mosque Complex, Israeli Foreign Minister: Nothing Changes, Muslims Pray, Non-Muslims Only Visit

Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Wikimedia Commons / Nikeman916)

JAKARTA - Israel is committed to maintaining the status quo that prevents Jews from worshiping at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said.

Foreign Minister Lapid's comments during a press conference on Sunday, came after more than a week of violence at the site in occupied East Jerusalem, which left more than 200 Palestinians injured by Israeli security forces.

"Muslims pray (there), non-Muslims only visit," he said as reported by The National News April 25. The disputed site is considered the holiest place in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam.

"There is no change, there will be no change, we have no plans to divide (the site) between religions," said Lapid Foreign Minister to reporters.

Palestinian Muslims have been angered by the increasing number of Jewish visits to the compound, where by old convention Jews can visit, but are not allowed to pray.

Tension over the visit has been heightened by the overlapping of the holy month of Ramadan and the week-long celebration of the Jewish Passover, which ends on Saturday.

The violence in occupied East Jerusalem is fueling fears of another Israeli-Palestinian conflict, similar to last year's 11-day war between Israel and the militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which was sparked by similar unrest in Al Aqsa.

Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke with US President Joe Biden, "updating him on efforts to stop violence and incitement in Jerusalem", his office said.

Palestinian officials and militants have repeatedly accused Israel of trying to divide Al Aqsa into Jewish and Muslim sections or visiting times, like other sensitive holy sites near Hebron.

They have voiced anger over repeated attacks by Israeli security forces on the mosque compound. However, Foreign Minister Lapid blamed the new tension at the site on 'terrorists' trying to incite violence.

"Terrorist organizations have tried to hijack the Al Aqsa Mosque to create an outbreak of violence in Jerusalem, from there violent conflicts across the country," he said.

He accused Hamas, which controls Gaza, and Islamic Jihad, another militant group in the Palestinian enclave, of sending "extremists" with weapons and explosives to use the Al Aqsa compound "as a base to incite violent unrest".

"They did this to create a provocation, to force the Israeli police into the mosque and kick them out," he said.

"The only reason the police entered the mosque in recent weeks was to chase them away," he said.

Israel on Saturday announced the indefinite closure of the only civilian crossing from the Gaza Strip, in response to rockets fired from Gaza. The crossing is used by about 12,000 Palestinians in Gaza who have permits to work in Israel.