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Tuesday 20 Oct 2015 - 14:16 Makkah mean time-7-1-1437
(Image from Reuters)
Madrid, (IINA) - US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that Israeli and Palestinian leaders need to clarify the status of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to help terminate the spate of bloodshed and restore stability, Reuters reported.
The Palestinians' unrest, the worst in years, has been stirred by anger over the increased Jewish encroachment on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is Islam's third most sacred site.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government is committed to maintaining the status quo at the compound, which has been under Muslim religious administration.
Netanyahu claims that his administration is "not seeking a new change or outsiders to come in", he also claimed that his administration is not proposing it, he further noted: "What we need is clarity".
It is noteworthy that Israel restricted Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, raided Al-Aqsa Mosque to remove worshippers who were inside, burnt rugs and broke windows of the holy site. Meanwhile, Israel has deployed troops in and around Jerusalem and erected roadblocks in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
Kerry, who will hold a meeting with the Palestinian President and the Jordanian king, said that he does not have specific expectations except to try to move things forward. Noting that such progress "will depend on the conversations themselves as to what it is that we're able to define in the context of steps that might be taken so people understand that in fact leaders are leading and making a serious effort to try and resolve the current conflict".
Some US and Israeli officials said that now is not the time for diplomacy, but Kerry stressed that security and diplomacy should go hand in hand. "There is not a time for one and then the other. There is an importance to both".
He also said he would meet counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Russia in Europe to explore "real and tangible options" for a peaceful political transition in Syria, whose civil war has intensified with Russia's intervention last month in support of the Damascus government against insurgents.
"This is a human catastrophe unfolding before our eyes, and it is a catastrophe that now threatens the integrity of a whole group of countries throughout the region", Kerry said.
AG/IINA
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