Bentzi Gopstein, the head of the anti-assimilation group Lehava, recently wrote on his Twitter account about couples going up to the Temple Mount before their wedding. His comment quickly brought about a swift and harsh response from the Palestinian Authority.

Rafat Alian, the official spokesperson for Fatah, warned against Jewish couples going to the site. He described it as a dangerous phenomenon that leads to “new Israeli incitement towards the al-Aqsa Mosque” and “an even greater provocation against Jerusalem residents.”

Alian said that the Israeli government does not respect agreements with the Palestinians, the Jordanians, or any other officials connected with the holy site and the al-Aqsa Mosque.

He further claimed that the “extreme right” government’s policy “that rests on ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem, killing children, home destructions, land confiscations, taking over houses, arresting thousands of our people, and keeping our young men and women away fro the al-Aqsa Mosque, is what gives organizational support to extremist settlers looking to destroy the al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Fatah is the largest faction in the Palestinian Authority and is headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.