Kerry Meets with Netanyahu in Effort to Help Quell Mideast Violence

A number of proposals were suggested‎ during the talks in Berlin, including steps that Israel could take to reaffirm its commitment to maintaining the status quo at a Jerusalem holy site that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews, the State Department said in a statement.

Referring to earlier conversations he had with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah, Kerry said, “I believe people want this to de-escalate”.

Abbas meanwhile called on Israel to strictly respect rules governing Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

The incident is the latest in a wave of near-daily attacks on Israelis by Palestinian or Arab attackers.

The tensions are centered on the Al Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, which is the third-holiest site in Islam and is revered by Jews as the site of two ancient temples.

“It is absolutely critical to end all incitement and all violence, and to find a road forward to build the possibility that is not there today for a larger process”, he said.

The decision, which allows all Muslim worshippers to attend Friday prayers, comes as Israel faces growing global pressure to defuse a crisis which many fear heralds a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

At least 47 Palestinians and one Arab Israeli have been killed in the upsurge in violence that began at the start of the month, including alleged attackers.

The attack, which injured an Israeli man, happened when bystanders prevented two Palestinian men from boarding a school bus in Beit Shemesh, police said.

Separately, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will meet Kerry and Netanyahu later Thursday in Berlin.

And in the evening, a Palestinian drove his auto into a group of Israelis in the West Bank, injuring five of them, before being shot and seriously wounded by soldiers.

Mr Kerry urged an end to all incitement and violence.

At the time, Israeli politicians described the Israeli’s actions as “terrorism” and said he should be treated like any other attacker. They and the Israeli they stabbed were hospitalized, and one of the Palestinians later died of his wounds.

“If parties want to try – and I believe they do want to move to a de-escalation – I think there are sets of choices that are available”, he said, expressing hope that “we can seize this moment and pull back from the precipice”.

He said Israel is committed to keeping the status quo at the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism and home to the biblical Temples.

The king warned against “any attempt to change the status quo”, which Netanyahu has repeatedly promised to preserve.

Widespread Palestinian perceptions that Israel is trying to expand its presence at the Muslim-run site have led to clashes there that quickly spread to other parts of Jerusalem, as well as the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made a surprise visit to Israel and the West Bank this week pleading for calm, and later delivered a pessimistic assessment of the situation to the U.N. Security Council.

An Israeli human rights group has released security camera footage showing several Israeli soldiers beating and kicking a Palestinian man for several minutes as he lies curled up in a defensive position on the floor of a storage room.