Barkat reaffirms commitment to Temple Mount status quo

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat met with leaders of East Jerusalem neighborhoods Monday in an attempt to calm tensions in the wake of recent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces.

Barkat, an advocate of a unified Jerusalem under Israeli control, reassured leaders that he was committed to maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount, saying “we will not allow either side to disturb the peace and worship,” according to a report on Israel Radio Monday.

Local leaders of the predominately Arab Jabal Mukaber and Sur Baher neighborhoods asked the mayor to reduce police presence in an East Jerusalem that has seen near daily rioting and vandalism in recent weeks.

Police have beefed up security in the capital in an effort to quell the nearly daily rioting and vandalism in a number of East Jerusalem neighborhoods.

Over the past few weeks, the capital has seen several flare ups of violence including two hit-and-run terror attacks and the attempted assassination of a right wing activist who lobbied for Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount.