Abbas warns of new Palestinian intifada over Al Aqsa clashes



PARIS // Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas warned on Tuesday that there was a risk of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising, erupting if violence at the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem did not ease and peace talks with Israel did not resume.

Israeli-Palestinian strife has risen sharply in recent weeks as Arab states and Palestinians have accused Israeli forces of violations at Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque.

“We spoke about what’s happening at A Aqsa,” Mr Abbas told a news conference after meeting French President Francois Hollande. “It’s extremely dangerous. We don’t want it to continue and (if it did) the alternative would be chaos or an intifada (uprising) that we don’t want.”

Mr Abbas called on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order an end to Israeli actions in Jerusalem’s Old City where Al Aqsa is located, stop continued settlement activity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and return to the negotiating table.

“We consider the only way to reach peace is through negotiations,” he said. The talks collapsed in April 2014.

Mr Hollande urged calm in Jerusalem and said the 1967 “status quo”, which meant access for Palestinians to Al Aqsa, could not be put into question. Israel captured Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war.

Mr Abbas sees Israel’s actions at Al Aqsa as an attempt to change the long-standing status quo under which Jewish access is permitted but Jewish prayer banned.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said last week that Israel was committed to maintaining the status quo and that Palestinian “rioters” would not be allowed to prevent Jews visiting the area.

The Palestinians waged two previous intifadas against Israel — in the late 1980s and in 2000-2005. Interim peace deals were signed two decades ago, but follow-up negotiations on a state Palestinians seek in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as their capital have gone nowhere.

The veteran Palestinian leader was in Paris to meet Mr Hollande ahead of the United Nations General Assembly next week.

France is trying to launch an international “contact group” at the United Nations that would comprise UN Security Council members, Arab states and the European Union with a view to reviving the peace process.

“We have proposed to create a framework for an international group to help prepare a restart of this dialogue,” Mr Hollande said. “The idea has been supported on the whole and at the UN General Assembly and in the months to come we will work to give it some substance.”

Paris had previously hoped to promote a Security Council resolution that would set negotiating parameters and establish a time frame, possibly 18 months, to complete the talks.

But the idea has been put on the back burner due to scant support, especially from the United States, Israel’s closest ally, ahead of a presidential election campaign.

* Reuters

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While you're here
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE