The US secretary of state, John Kerry, was in Jordan on Saturday, working two diplomatic fronts.
In Amman, Kerry met the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to discuss ongoing violence in the West Bank and Gaza.
By telephone, Kerry discussed with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, the possibility of talks between the Syrian government and rebels as US and Russian air strikes continue.
On Saturday in the West Bank, a Palestinian man was shot dead after he tried to stab an Israeli security guard at a border crossing, Israeli police said. The suspect approached the Jalameh crossing between the northern West Bank and Israel from the Palestinian side, an Israeli police spokeswoman said. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the Palestinian was 16 years old.
At least 52 Palestinians, half of whom Israel says were assailants, have been shot dead by Israelis at the scene of attacks or during protests in the West Bank and Gaza since 1 October. Nine Israelis have been stabbed or shot dead by Palestinians.
In Jordan, Kerry sketched out steps, including Israeli-Jordanian video surveillance, he hoped could ease tensions.
Speaking in Amman after meeting Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah, Kerry said Israel had given assurances it had no intention of changing the status quo at the al-Aqsa compound in the old city of Jerusalem, the third-holiest site in Islam, upon which Palestinians say Israel is encroaching.
Violence has flared throughout Israel, Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip in recent weeks. The al-Aqsa compound is also revered by Jews as the site of two destroyed ancient temples.
“I am pleased that [Israeli] Prime Minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu has reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to upholding the unchanged status quo of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, both in word and in practice,” Kerry said.
He praised the proposal by the Jordanian king, the custodian of the al-Aqsa compound, for 24-hour video surveillance at the site and said Netanyahu had agreed to “an excellent suggestion”.
He said technical teams would meet shortly to work out how to implement the idea.said: “Israel has an interest in placing cameras across the Temple Mount in order to refute the claims that it is changing the status quo. We are interested in showing that the provocations are not coming from the Israeli side.”
Kerry said Netanyahu would address the issue later and that placing cameras “could really be a game-changer in discouraging anybody from disturbing the sanctity of this holy site … [and will] provide comprehensive visibility and transparency.”
Netanyahu and Kerry met in Berlin on Thursday, after which the US top diplomat voiced cautious optimism that a way could be found to defuse the tensions.
Standing alongside Jordanian foreign minister Nasser Judeh in Amman, Kerry said: “Israel has no intention of dividing the Temple Mount, Haram al-Sharif, and it rejects completely any attempt to suggest otherwise.”
Judeh said: “Jordan not only supports, but demands, that there is an immediate restoration of calm and an end to all violence and provocative actions. It is in our interest, Jordan and the United States, to see things quiet down, calm down.”
From Amman, Kerry flew to Riyadh, where he was expected to meet King Salman of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi crown prince, deputy crown prince and foreign minister.
From Amman, Kerry flew to Riyadh, where he was expected to meet King Salman of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi crown prince, deputy crown prince and foreign minister.
Regarding Syria, Kerry and Lavrov spoke on Saturday, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. In a telephone conversation held at the request of the US, the ministry said, the two men also discussed tapping the potential of other countries in the region to push the political process forward.
A US military statement said the US and its allies carried out 21 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq on Friday. It mentioned no air raids in Syria.
The US-led coalition has been bombing Isis targets in Iraq and Syria since last year, and its daily statements usually list attacks in both countries. Russia beganstrikes in Syria, against rebels in opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, whom it supports, last month.
Lavrov told Russian state TV on Saturday that the Kremlin wanted Syria to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections and that Russia was prepared to provide air support to the Free Syrian Army.
He said: “External players cannot decide anything for the Syrians. We must force them to come up with a plan for their country where the interests of every religious, ethnic and political group will be well protected.”
Lavrov also said the Obama administration’s refusal to coordinate its campaign in Syria with Moscow was “a big mistake”.
In Iraq, US strikes on Friday hit targets near 11 cities, including Ramadi and Mosul, the statement said.
On Thursday, the US released details of a raid against Isis militants in northern Iraq in which an American soldier was killed. Joshua Wheeler, 39, was the first US combat soldier to die in Iraq in the campaign against Isis.
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