​(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this afternoon (Thursday, 14 April 2016), in Tel Aviv, made the following remarks at a pre-Passover toast with the Union of Local Authorities:
 
"We must be patient. We know that there are attempts, even now, to change the trend of a decline in the number of terrorist attacks.
 
There are, at present, attempts to rekindle the unrest and the violence, especially over Passover and the Temple Mount, as we previously experienced during the holidays last autumn. Ahead of Passover, all kinds of extremist elements are spreading lies about our policy on the Temple Mount in order to cause riots and stir things up. We are working against these inciters. We will increase our forces in places of friction; we will use additional defensive measures. We are also sending messages to Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the entire Arab world.
 
I also call on you, local council heads and mayors, Jewish and Arab alike, to work with your publics in order to calm the mood. Do not allow an extremist minority to change the order of things.
 
I tell you for certain:
 
There is no change in our policy regarding the status-quo on the Temple Mount. Do not believe the lies, which I regret are also being spread by several MKs. We are committed to maintaining the peace and the security and will do whatever it takes to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel."