Israel’s Lapid Meets with US Officials Over Jerusalem Tensions
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid attends a news conference with Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss at the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office in London, Britain, November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
i24 News – Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with senior US officials on Thursday to discuss tensions between Israel, Palestinians, and Arab states over escalations at Jerusalem’s holy sites.
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Yael Lempert and Deputy Assistant Secretary Hady Amr were dispatched to the region earlier this week with concerns about the continuation and potential increase of violence.
Lapid tweeted that they “discussed Israel’s efforts in this very challenging period to preserve the status quo on the Temple Mount.”
The Israeli minister also stressed that “extremists and Hamas supporters” are the ones stoking the tensions.
He referred to Israeli authorities preventing a flag march on Wednesday by “Jewish extremists who tried to inflame tensions.”
“Muslim moderates need to do the same thing when it comes to Islamic extremists,” Lapid urged.
Lempert and Amr also met with the West Bank’s Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The officials discussed “the need for all parties to call and work for calm, especially in Jerusalem,” the US Embassy’s Palestinian Affairs Unit tweeted.
Before visiting Israel, Lempert and Amr first stopped in Amman to meet with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to discuss the importance of “upholding the historic status quo at Jerusalem’s holy places.”
A day after the diplomatic efforts, fresh clashes erupted at the Temple Mount compound between Israeli authorities and Palestinian worshipers.