Israel to take steps to calm holy site unrest: Kerry
AMMAN: US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday that Israel has agreed on steps to calm tensions over Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, at the centre of Palestinian unrest, including 24-hour security cameras.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to announce details of the measures later the same day, Kerry said after meetings in Amman with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.
He said Netanyahu had agreed to “an excellent suggestion by King Abdullah”, custodian of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, “to provide 24-hour video coverage of all sites” in the compound, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims.
“This will provide comprehensive visibility and transparency and that could really be a game changer in discouraging anybody from disturbing the sanctity of the holy site,” he said.
Kerry, who met Netanyahu in Berlin on Thursday, also said the Israeli leader had “reaffirmed Israel's commitment” to upholding the status quo at the mosque compound under which Jews are allowed to visit but not pray.
Tensions over the holy site have sparked a recent wave of violence that has seen knife and gun attacks against Israelis, as well as clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
The talks in Amman came as a Palestinian tried on Saturday to stab an Israeli security guard in the West Bank and was killed, according to police.
On Friday, more than 80 people, mostly Palestinians, were wounded in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu has repeatedly accused Abbas of fanning the flames by suggesting Israel wants to change the status quo at the Al-Aqsa site, which Jews refer to as Temple Mount.
The international community is seeking a halt to a wave of violence that many fear heralds a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
Since the start of this month, 51 Palestinians and one Israeli Arab have died in clashes or while carrying out attacks.