Palestinian wounds Israeli in West Bank stabbing

Less than 24 hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry lauded the idea of placing round-the-clock surveillance cameras on Temple Mount as a means of ensuring calm at the holy site, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Sunday called the idea “a trap”.

Kerry had spent several days holding talks with Israeli and Arab leaders, capping his efforts by meeting Saturday with the Palestinians and Jordan.

In 2013, Jordan and Abbas signed an agreement granting King Abdullah “custodianship of Jerusalem holy sites”, however, neither Jordan nor the Palestinian Authority has de facto control over the sites.

Jews revere the site as the location of two destroyed biblical Jewish temples. It is the third-holiest site in Islam and houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and gold-topped Dome of the Rock.

“The Quartet expresses grave concern over the continuing escalation of tensions between Israelis and Palestinians”, said a statement statement issued in Vienna, Austria.

Late Saturday, Israel said it welcomed “increased coordination” with the Jordanians.

The hilltop compound in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is a frequent flash point. First, in order to disprove the claim that Israel is changing the status quo.

He said having cameras inside will allow the Jordanian Waqf, which administers the site, “to control things better”.

“Netanyahu wants the video cameras just to track our people and arrest them”, Palestinian official Saeb Erekat told the Voice of Palestine radio station.

A US official said Israeli and Jordanian technical officials would discuss who would conduct the video monitoring, but no date for consultations was announced.

Today’s attacks were the latest in the wave of violence that has seen knife and gun attacks against Israelis in recent weeks. The current round of fighting began last month with clashes between young Muslim men and Israeli security forces, and quickly spread to other parts of Jerusalem, across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In September the army was forced to defend itself over questions swirling around the death of an 18-year-old Palestinian woman in Hebron they said had tried to stab a soldier when she was shot.

The violence continued Sunday.

Israeli security forces stand guard as they prevent Palestinians from approaching the area where Palestinian Ahmed Ikmel, 16, was killed Saturday after he allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli security guard at the Jalama checkpoint near Jenin, West Bank, Saturday, October 24, 2015. The military initially said the attackers were disguised as ultra-Orthodox Jews but later retracted the detail after an investigation, saying it was incorrect.

A military spokeswoman said the attack occurred after an Israeli motorist exited his vehicle because stones were being thrown at it.

On Sunday, Mohammed Hussein, the mufti of Jerusalem, the top Muslim cleric, gave a rare interview to Israeli media, telling Channel 2 TV that there had never been a Jewish presence at the holy site. They say the violence is the result of almost 50 years of occupation and a lack of a political horizon toward statehood.

Israeli police have shot a Palestinian woman in the West Bank city of Hebron, saying she drew a knife as she approached them shouting and refusing to identify herself.

“We look forward to working cooperatively to lower tensions, stop incitement and discourage violence”, it said.