Top Israeli, Palestinian brass meet in bid to end violence

Israel on Tuesday told the Palestinian Authority that it is not interested in an escalation of hostilities with the Palestinians and that it intends to take steps to calm tensions.

The remarks were made during a meeting between high-ranking Israeli and Palestinian defense officials amid weeks of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in and around Jerusalem.

Central Command head Nitzan Alon and Civil Administration chief David Menahem met with Palestinian officials, including West Bank preventative security chief Ziad al-Barih, intelligence chief Majid Faraj, and Palestinian police chief Hazem Atallah.

The PA responded by sending Israel messages encouraging calm, but those present warned that the PA would struggle to cope with the situation if Israel took steps to escalate the situation on the ground, such as harm to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, confiscation of West Bank land for settlements or settler harassment of Palestinians.

Israeli officials emphasized that Jerusalem has no intention of taking tough security steps, and that its security forces will work to maintain quiet as much as possible. The Israeli officials also reiterated statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the government has no intention of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount.

After the meeting, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai spoke with Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh.

A senior Palestinian official told The Times of Israel that the meeting was positive, and that it was clear that the Israeli security establishment is interested in calming the situation. At the same time, the Palestinian source said that he wasn’t sure that Israel’s political leaders shared this stance.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Thursday with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Amman, Israel Radio reported. Abbas’s spokesman said that he would tell Kerry that Israel crossed a red line, particularly on the Temple Mount and in Jerusalem, and that the Palestinians are determined to pursue their plan to ask the United Nations Security Council next month to set a date for the end of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

Abbas on Tuesday said that Jews have no right to “contaminate” the site, which is the third-holiest in the Muslim faith — and the holiest in Judaism, as the site of two ancient Jewish temples — and warned that a continuation of Israeli policies would lead to a “religious war.”

Kerry was set to arrive in Amman Wednesday to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan. The two will discuss the escalation of tensions in Jerusalem and the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

Kerry, fresh from nuclear talks with Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, is to spend two days in Jordan before traveling on to the United Arab Emirates on November 14, the State Department said in a statement late Tuesday.

Last week, heavy clashes raged at the Temple Mount compound as Israeli police faced off with Palestinian stone-throwers, prompting Jordan to recall its ambassador in protest.

The US has issued repeated calls for calm in the region, with the State Department saying that all sides need to do more to ease tensions.

Tensions over the Temple Mount have been simmering for much of the past several months, as Palestinian Muslims have protested increased visits by Jews and calls by right-wing MKs to allow Jewish prayer at the site, where it has been forbidden by Israel since 1967.

AFP contributed to this report.