The IDF has apologised for the remarks, which it says were taken out of context.

„Jerusalem isn‘t mentioned in the Koran even once. Not even in a hint. The Arabs are imagining things,“ Peretz said during a lecture at pre-Military Academy in Moshav Nave in November.

A video of the address was published on the website Kipa this week.

„90% of the Arabs don‘t know a thing about the Quran. I tell you with full authority. We know better than many of them,“ Peretz said, according to a translation by Haaretz newspaper.