Israel government looks to Amman to help calm Jerusalem tensions

Israel government looks to Amman to help calm Jerusalem tensions

Following the three terror attacks on March 22, March 27 and March 29, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid visited yesterday flashpoint Damascus Gate at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City. Accompanied by Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, Lapid expressed his support of Israel’s law enforcement agencies, tweeting, “I participated today at a situation-assessment meeting at the Jerusalem Police headquarters, together with Commissioner Shabtai, and then toured the Damascus Gate area. This is a difficult, tense period, but we have a police force that can be relied on to get us through this complex period. We give you full backing.” 

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it "condemns in the strongest terms the provocative incursion by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in the Bab al-Amud (Damascus Gate) area in occupied Jerusalem," adding it "strongly condemns the promises he (Lapid) made to Jewish extremists to deploy more occupation forces and police in Jerusalem under the pretext of providing protection for them during the Jewish holidays."