Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Yedid addressed Sunday afternoon the ongoing riots on the Temple Mount as well as the decision to allow Jews to ascend to the holy site.
Yedid made it clear that the decision to allow Jews to ascend the Temple Mount despite the Muslim sacrifice of Eid al-Adha does not violate the status quo.
"I don't recognize the concept of a 'status quo,'" Yedid said. "From the day I first came to know this place, the [Muslim] holiday morning prayer begins at 6:30 AM. Miraculously they changed the prayer to 7:30 in the morning. Isn't that a change in the status quo?"
"When we realized that everything was heading to the prevention of Jewish ascension by a handful of people, we used force, dispersed them and allowed the Jews to ascend."
Yedid said that at around 1:30 pm, the police would probably allow more Jews to enter the Temple Mount compound.