PM to Abbas: Stop the incendiary speeches about Temple Mount

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has passed a message to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asking him to stop making inflammatory statements about the Temple Mount, the flashpoint site in Jerusalem holy to Jews and Muslims that has been the scene and focus of recent multiple clashes between Israel and the Palestinians.

Netanyahu dispatched his personal aide Yitzhak Molcho along with Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of Israeli government activities in the territories, to make the request via Abbas’s aides, Channel 2 television reported Friday.

Israel believes that Muslim anger over alleged plans to change the fragile status quo at the site is at the root of the uptick in clashes and terror attacks, and is seeking to put a stop to any remarks that further incite violence. Jews can visit the Temple Mount, which is the traditional site of the Jewish Temples, but cannot pray there. The site, which houses the al-Aqsa Mosque, is administered by the Waqf Muslim trust.

Abbas has in recent weeks expressed outrage over the purported alterations in the arrangements on the Temple Mount, ignoring Israel’s consistent denials of any plans for change. Speaking at the UN General Assembly last month, the Palestinian leader said “extremist Israeli groups” were visiting the area under Israeli security protection and accused Israel of seeking to impose a new reality and divide the compound.

He accused Israeli “occupying forces” of entering the site while preventing Muslim worshipers from exercising their religious rights. Such policies, he said, could lead to an “implosion” in the region.

Abbas also caused outrage in Israel last month when he accused Jews of “desecrating” the site with their “filthy feet.”

Netanyahu, at a press conference in the wake of a series of Palestinian terror attacks, highlighted Abbas’s comments as part of the incitement that has prompted the terrorism, and said he hoped Abbas would change his tune.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has made a similar call for the PA president to tone down his remarks about the Mount in the face of the rising tensions.

Meanwhile, Israeli security officials reportedly said Friday that they have seen efforts by Abbas to “lower the flames” and calm tensions.

One official said that the problem faced now by both Israel and the Palestinians is how to confront the “lone wolf terrorism” — attacks by individuals who are not backed by a terror group and who decide to act independently, Israel Radio reported.

The security establishment is now bracing for any developments emanating from the Gaza Strip. According to Army Radio, the Islamist groups in the Strip continue to goad the Palestinian public to act violently against Israel.