Ramallah, April 4 (Prensa Latina) The Palestinian government today criticized Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s visit to the Damascus Gate in the Occupied Zone of East Jerusalem, an event which it regards as a clear provocation.
Amid tight security and amid rising tensions between the two parties, Lapid toured the area the day before, accompanied by Police Chief Kobi Shabtai, officials and lawmakers.
We strongly condemn Lapid’s provocative raid and his promises to the extremists to use more troops to occupy Jerusalem under the pretense of protecting them during the Jewish holidays, according to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry on its website.
According to the text, Lapid spoke as if only Jewish holidays were celebrated in April, without taking into account the existence of Muslim and Christian holidays, he said.
Lapid’s visit in the midst of police was “conclusive evidence that he is an occupier and is afraid to enter occupied land,” the statement said.
Israeli soldiers quelled protests by hundreds of Palestinians who gathered at the Damascus Gate this weekend to oppose the occupation of their land.
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) also questioned the foreign minister’s actions.
For his part, Israeli lawmaker Sami Abou Shahadeh accused the minister of “pouring fuel on the fire”.
The left-wing MP warned on his Twitter account that this was a dangerous policy that could set the whole region on fire.
The Damascus Gate is one of the eight entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem, an area occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.
In 1980, the Israeli authorities declared the entire city as the country’s eternal and indivisible capital, a position rejected by the international community, which sees the eastern territory as the capital of the future Palestinian state.
According to various non-governmental organizations, around 200,000 Israeli settlers live in this area and more than 490,000 in the rest of the West Bank.
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