US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked to Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders to address recent violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank that has increased tensions in the area, sources said on Tuesday.
Because of Friday’s violence in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid informed the top US official on Tuesday about Israel’s efforts to safeguard freedom of worship in Jerusalem.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas informed Blinken on Tuesday that “violent attacks” by Israeli soldiers and settlers on the mosque complex and Israeli invasions into Palestinian cities and villages “would lead to severe and intolerable repercussions,” Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Israeli security personnel have been on high alert after a string of fatal Arab street assaults around the nation over the previous two weeks.
The Old City of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa complex, where clashes between Israelis and Palestinians are taking place, might lead to a revival of the Gaza conflict.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders spoke by phone on Monday about the need to stop the violence and avoid further escalation, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price. Blinken and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also discussed the issue.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Price claimed that Blinken “emphasised the significance of respecting the historic status quo at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, and appreciation for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s specific responsibility as custodian of Muslim sacred places in Jerusalem”.
According to state media, King Abdullah of Jordan claimed Israel’s “unilateral” actions against Muslim pilgrims at the Al-Aqsa Mosque were a threat to regional peace.
King Abdullah slammed Israel for “provocative measures” that breached “the legal and historic status quo” of Muslim holy locations in a phone chat with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday.
Since 1924, King Abdullah’s Hashemite kingdom has paid for the preservation of the sites and derived some of its legitimacy from the position.
President Erdogan of Turkey stated on Tuesday that he informed Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog he was “extremely concerned” by Palestinians maimed or murdered in the West Bank and Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan.
“Some extremist Israeli organisations and security personnel” have been blamed for recent incidents, according to a tweet from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The “raids by extremist organisations” at Al-Aqsa in recent days and the violence extending to Gaza were also troubling, Erdogan told Herzog.
Erdogan claimed he also “emphasised the need of not permitting provocations and threats against the status and spirituality of the Al-Aqsa Mosque during this sensitive moment.”
Regional rivals, both countries withdrew ambassadors in 2018 and often hurled indignities over the Palestinian problem, Turkish backing for the Hamas militant organisation, which governs Gaza, and other concerns.
The Turkish government, which favours a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has stated that it believes improving relations with Israel will aid in finding a solution to the problem, but that it will not compromise its commitments to the Palestinian people in exchange for closer ties with Israel.
Works at The Truth International Magazine. My area of interest includes international relations, peace & conflict studies, qualitative & quantitative research in social sciences, and world politics. Reach@ aimen.bukhari@tti.org.pk
