Official: PA should carry more influence in Jerusalem

Mahmoud al-Habbash, the Minister of Religious Affairs, told Ma'an that the PA needed to redouble its efforts to assert control in East Jerusalem.
 
"We should start working with the Jerusalem district ... and all the people of Jerusalem to bring back the weight of the PA in Jerusalem," al-Habbash said.
 
He said a "religious war" would erupt in the area if Israel continued carrying out its plans in Jerusalem.
 
"For Palestine, it is an open battle; even if Israel imposes a new reality in Jerusalem we will not give it legitimacy."
 
Al-Habbash's statements came as tensions rose at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in recent days amid regular clashes between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli police officers during visits to the holy site by right-wing Jews.
 
Israeli forces have also been regularly restricting access to the mosque to Palestinians under the age of 50.
 
The site is the third holiest site in Islam and is in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 and later annexed, though the international community considers it Palestinian territory.