An umbrella organization for Israeli Arab groups accused Israel on Saturday of perpetrating “ethnic cleansing” in Jerusalem, in the wake of Israel’s quelling of riots by Arab youths on the Temple Mount.
“Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem, and the defense of Al-Aqsa and of East Jerusalem is an obligation for the whole Palestinian people, and for the Arab nation,” the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee said in a statement.
The group was referring to the Al-Aqsa mosque, which sits atop the holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem.
“The occupation is the most illegitimate thing in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and the struggle against it is a natural and legitimate act,” the committee added.
