The compound is Islam’s holiest site outside Saudi Arabia and is also revered by Jews as the location of two ancient Jewish temples. He said he had spoken to Abbas and Abdullah, who is charged with overseeing the Jerusalem site, in the past day and both assured them of their commitment to calm.
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Deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis have sharply increased in recent weeks amid tensions over the Temple Mount, also known as Haram al-Sharif, a Jerusalem site holy to Jews and Muslims.
At least two Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire. Forty-eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 27 labeled by Israel as attackers and the rest in clashes.
Maliki also criticized the Security Council for its inability to address the situation, saying the 15-member body had “proven unable and unwilling to bear its obligations”.
“They [the settlers] toured the compound, passing by the Al-Qibali and Al-Marwani mosques”, he said. For instance, two years ago, a granddaughter of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was hospitalized in the Schneider hospital in Petah Tikva.
Mr Netanyahu, however, has himself infuriated Palestinians by comments about a former Palestinian leader inspiring Hitler’s Holocaust.
“To stop the terrorism, we have to stop the incitement and I think it’s time the international community told President Abbas to stop the incitement and hold him accountable for his words and his deeds”. Muslims view age restrictions as part of a perceived Israeli attempt to expand its presence at the site, a claim Israel has repeatedly denied. While on a bus in Jerusalem the man was asked by Israeli soldiers for his national identification card after they witnessed him acting suspiciously.
After his talks with Mr Netanyahu in Berlin, John Kerry expressed hope of defusing the tension. Four-year-old Ahmad, who is currently receiving treatment at Israeli hospitals, is the last surviving member of the family.
And US political scientist Normal Finkelstein pointed out that attempting to shift blame for the Holocaust to other nations is a form of holocaust denial according to the Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, of which Israel is a member.
“The uprisings shall continue until freedom is achieved and the land is for Palestine and its people”, he said. On Thursday, a Palestinian attempted to stab an Israeli soldier in the city before fleeing.
Netanyahu met Thursday in Berlin with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to find ways to ease tensions over the holy site.
Nine Israelis have been killed in Palestinian stabbings, shootings and vehicle attacks since the start of October.
In the latest attack Friday a Palestinian stabbed and lightly wounded a soldier in the occupied West Bank and was shot and wounded by Israeli forces.
He was due to meet Lavrov and Mogherini on the crisis on Friday in Vienna, joined by Ban via video link from New York.
Ban had on Wednesday said he was “not optimistic” after the talks to get both sides to pull back from a “dangerous escalation”.
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It is managed by an Islamic foundation under the auspices of Jordan but Israel controls access.
