Obama ‘concerned’ by outbreak of Israel-Palestinian violence

US President Barack Obama expresses concern about the outbreak of violence centered in Jerusalem and called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to tamp down inflammatory rhetoric.

“We are very concerned about the outbreak of violence,” Obama says at a news conference with visiting South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms violence directed against innocent people, and believe that Israel has a right to maintain basic law and order and protect its citizens from knife attacks, and violence on the streets,” he added.

“We also believe that it’s important for both Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and Israeli elected officials, and [Palestinian Authority] President [Mahmoud] Abbas and other people in positions of power, to try to tamp down rhetoric that may feed violence or anger or misunderstanding,” he says.

— AFP

US President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye attend a press conference in the East Room of the White House on October 16, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)
US President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye attend a press conference in the East Room of the White House on October 16, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

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