Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State John F.
I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a
lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
and Jordan's King Abdullah II met Thursday evening in Amman, Jordan to discuss rising tensions in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordan's King Abdullah II met Thursday evening in Amman, Jordan to discuss rising tensions in Jerusalem.
Around 100 residents, among them schoolchildren, tried to block the main road in protest after police blocked off several of Issawiya's entrances with concrete blocks. Police fired tear gas, percussion bombs and rubber bullets to break up the rally.
Months of unrest have escalated in recent days, spreading from East Jerusalem to the West Bank and Arab communities across Israel, and raising fears of a new Paleostinian uprising.
'Red line'
The meeting between Abbas and Kerry, who arrived in Jordan late on Wednesday, comes a day after Israel approved plans for another 200 settler homes in a neighborhood of East Jerusalem, a move sharply criticized by Washington.
Much of the unrest in Jerusalem has been fuelled by religious tensions at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, a site holy to both Moslems and Jews.
The Paleostinians have been deeply angered by a campaign by far-right Jewish fringe groups to secure prayer rights at the shrine, although Israel has repeatedly stressed it has no plans to change the decades old status quo, under which Jews can visit but not pray there.
Abbas's front man said he would tell Kerry of the Paleostinians' growing concerns over Israel's actions, particularly in Jerusalem.
"The Paleostinian position will be made crystal clear: the Israeli violations are a red line and cannot be tolerated - especially with the tension and Israeli escalation in Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.
'End provocative acts'
In a letter to the UN Security Council sent on Wednesday, Paleostinian ambassador Riyad Mansour demanded international intervention.
"The flagrant disrespect for this holy site and for Paleostinian worshippers, marked by daily incursions into the compound... must be taken seriously by the international community as they are stoking religious sensitivities and aggravating tensions, with the potential to spiral out of control," he said.
Clashes at the mosque compound have drawn sharp criticism from both the Paleostinians and Jordan, which has custodial rights at the shrine.
Ahead of Kerry's arrival, King Abdullah met Abbas in Amman for talks in which he expressed his "total rejection" of Israel's "repeated aggressions and provocations in Jerusalem," a palace statement said.
In a move likely to further heighten tensions around the compound, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said late Wednesday he would introduce metal detectors and facial-recognition technology at the entrances.
"We'll increase the supervision of people entering the compound, both Jews and Moslems," he said. Metal detectors were removed from the compound's gates in 2000.
The US State Department sharply condemned Israel's announcement of 200 new homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot.
"We are deeply concerned by this decision, particularly given the tense situation in Jerusalem," said spokeswoman Jen Psaki
...a valley girl who woke up one morning and found she was spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State...
Middle East
Quartet... The Quartet are the UN (xylophone), the United States (alto), the European Union (soprano), and Russia (shortstop). The group was established in Madrid in 2002 by former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy....
envoy Tony Blair urged Israeli and Paleostinian leaders to call for restraint and "an end to hostile and provocative acts", including settlement construction.
UN chief
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
demanded both sides do everything possible "to avoid further exacerbating an already tense environment".