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John Kerry confirms meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas John Kerry confirms meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas
(about 5 hours later)
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has said he will meet Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Germany this week, followed by talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas after more than two weeks of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. John Kerry, the US secretary of state, has announced talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a belated US attempt to prevent two weeks of deadly violence from escalating further.
Kerry said he would meet Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Germany this week, before meeting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
It is the first time Kerry has confirmed media reports of a meeting with both Netanyahu and Abbas. He did not say where he planned to meet Abbas other than that it will be in the Middle East, but the meeting is widely expected to take place in Jordan.It is the first time Kerry has confirmed media reports of a meeting with both Netanyahu and Abbas. He did not say where he planned to meet Abbas other than that it will be in the Middle East, but the meeting is widely expected to take place in Jordan.
“Later this week I will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu because he will be in Germany … and then I will go to the region, I will meet with President Abbas, I will meet King Abdullah [of Jordan] and others,” Kerry said during a lunch at Unesco’s headquarters in Paris.
While in Europe Kerry said he would also hold meetings on Syria. He has been pressing Russia to agree on a political transition in Syria which would see Bashar al-Assad leave power.
His comments came as Israel and the US resumed talks in Jerusalem on future military aid that Netanyahu suspended in protest against the Iran nuclear deal.
More than 40 Palestinians and seven Israelis have died in the recent street violence in occupied E ast Jerusalem and the West Bank, triggered in part by Palestinians’ anger over what they see as increased Jewish encroachment on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound.More than 40 Palestinians and seven Israelis have died in the recent street violence in occupied E ast Jerusalem and the West Bank, triggered in part by Palestinians’ anger over what they see as increased Jewish encroachment on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Israel says it is keeping the status quo at the holy compound, which is also revered by Jews as the location of two destroyed biblical Jewish temples. On Sunday, Israeli police started constructing a concrete fence between Palestinian and Jewish neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, in addition to the concrete blocks placed on roads creating checkpoints.Police say the fence erected between Jabel Mukaber, a Palestinian neighbourhood, and Armon Hanatziv, a Jewish one, are to stop rock throwing and fire bomb attacks. The fence resembles the West Bank separation wall.Residents in Armon Hanatziv have complained about feeling unsafe and about violent attacks since the death of motorist Alexander Levlovich, who lost control of his car after, police say, Palestinians threw rocks at his vehicle as he drove in the neighbourhood.
While in Europe Kerry said he would also hold meetings on Syria. He has been pressing Russia to agree on a political transition in the country that would see Bashar al-Assad leave power.
Kerry’s comments came as Israel and the US resumed talks in Jerusalem on future military aid that Netanyahu suspended in protest against the Iran nuclear deal.