Israel has repeatedly denied it is seeking to change the current rules, under which Jews and Christians can visit but only Muslims can pray at the site.
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At the start of his meeting with Netanyahu, Kerry – on his first visit to Israel in more than a year – said Israel has both a right and an obligation to defend itself against terrorism.
This morning, during his meeting with Netanyahu, Kerry stated that Israel has the right to defend itself against terror attacks on civilians and expressed “complete condemnation for any act of terror that takes innocent lives and disrupts the day-to-day life of a nation”, according to Haaretz. Israel says many of those were killed while carrying out attacks.
Danon said the worldwide community needs to “rip off the Palestinian mask of lies” and condemn “the lies and incitement” which fuel violence against Israelis.
Since Oct. 1, 86 Palestinians have been killed, some while carry out assaults and others in clashes with Israeli forces.
A Palestinian, identified by the health ministry as 16-year-old Khalil Hashash, was shot dead when trying to stab an Israeli soldier near Huwara to the south of Nablus.
There are few expectations for Kerry’s visit, although Israeli officials welcomed Kerry’s strong statements on the wave of Palestinian attacks on Israelis over the past two months that have left 23 Israelis dead and dozens wounded.
But the attacks renewed as quickly as Kerry landed.
Netanyahu has called for a new round of security measures, including more security checks on Palestinian drivers, new bypass routes and revoking the work permits for families of assailants. The script is well-trodden, with Kerry likely to ask both sides to avoid provocative actions.
This week, a Palestinian radio station playing music that glorified violence was forcibly closed.
A senior State Department official said Kerry will not even attempt to get the Palestinians and Israelis to agree to resume negotiations, which collapsed previous year.
“This has only further entrenched the occupation and undermined the realization of the two-State solution”, Abbas said.
“We are here” at President Barack Obama’s instructions “to see what we can do”, he added, but provided no specifics.
Following the meeting in Ramallah, Kerry said he had a long and very constructive and serious conversation with Abbas.
“But this street violence doesn’t provide any leader with a framework within which they can look their people in the eye and say, ‘There’s a reason to be sitting down and talking about this or that, ‘ ” he said. But he cautioned: “People aren’t in the mood for concessions”.
“Israel is fighting these forces every hour”, Mr Netanyahu said. “It’s a battle of civilization against barbarism”.
Abbas, who believes a deal with Netanyahu is impossible, has provided no indication that he wants to restart direct peace talks anytime soon. Lastly, ahead of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Eliasson urged all parties to reaffirm their commitment to bring about peace in the region, which can also contribute to international peace and security.
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There have been threats to pull out off the 1990s Oslo accords, which formed the basis of the peace process but have not led to an independent Palestinian state.
