AMMAN // Israel has agreed on steps to calm tensions over Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque compound, including 24-hour security cameras, US secretary of state John Kerry said on Saturday.
It came as a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli security forces at a checkpoint in the West Bank.
The suggestion “to provide 24-hour video coverage of all sites” in the area was made by Jordan’s King Abdullah II, custodian of the Al Aqsa mosque compound, Mr Kerry added.
“This will provide comprehensive visibility and transparency and that could really be a game changer in discouraging anybody from disturbing the sanctity of the holy site,” he said after meetings in Amman with King Abdullah and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
He also said Israel had promised to maintain the tradition that only Muslims are allowed to pray at the compound – known to Muslims as Haram Al Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews as Temple Mount.
The secretary of state added that Israeli officials and the Muslim Waqf, custodians who manage the site which houses the compound, would meet to discuss ways of easing tensions.
Earlier on Saturday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “changed the status of the Al Aqsa mosque – that’s why we and Jordan are asking the American side to re-establish the situation”.
“The king (Abdullah) has guardianship over Al Aqsa mosque and the holy places and will not allow this manipulation by Netanyahu,” he said.
Mr Kerry was due to fly on to Riyadh, where he was expected to meet Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, the Saudi crown prince, deputy crown prince and foreign minister.
Since the start of October, at least 52 Palestinians – one an Israeli citizen – have been killed in the latest wave of violence. Nine Israeli Jews have also died – one of whom was killed by Israeli security forces after being mistaken for a Palestinian. An Eritrean asylum seeker also died after being shot by an Israeli security guard and beaten by a mob who allegedly mistook him for a Palestinian.
Mr Kerry, his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon – members of the Middle East peacemaking Quartet – appealed for “maximum restraint” after talks on Friday in Vienna.
They also issued a call for Israel to work with Jordan as steward of the Al Aqsa mosque compound.
The Palestinian shot dead on Saturday was alleged to have tried to stab a private security guard at the Israeli Al Jalama checkpoint in the northern West Bank. The Palestinian health ministry said he was 16 years old.
It came a day after 20 Palestinians were injured by Israeli fire at checkpoints in the occupied West Bank.
Sixty-five people, including three journalists, were also wounded by Israeli fire in Gaza, on what Palestinian movements had described as a “day of rage” against Israel.
On Friday, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said it was time for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to meet face-to-face.
“I strongly suggested and urged them to sit down together,” Mr Ban said after returning from the Middle East, where he met separately with Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas.
“There is no substitute to direct talks.”
He reported to the UN Security Council on Wednesday that he was “not optimistic” following his talks in the region.
But he on Friday he said that “despite the anger and polarisation, there is still time to step back from the brink”.
Mr Ban said it was “critical that Israel exercise maximum restraint and make sure that security measures are properly calibrated, so that they do not breed the very frustrations and anxieties which perpetuate violence”.
* Agencies
