AMMAN, Jordan, Oct. 24 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Saturday in an effort to defuse violence and tensions between Palestinians and Israelis.
Kerry, Abbas and the king discussed a set of ideas brought forward in Kerry’s discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin earlier this week. In the past month, 10 Israelis have been killed in Palestine attacks and 49 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire. Kerry and Abbas remained positive before their meeting Saturday.
“All the time we had the hope,” Abbas said. “We did not lose the hope.”
Kerry added: “I am hopeful.”
While there has long been strife in the West Bank area, this most recent violence has been driven by the growing fear among Palestinians that the Israelis are trying to limit access rights to, or even destroy, the Al-Aqsa mosque — the third holiest site in Islam. Jordan is the custodian of the mosque compound.
After his meeting with Netanyahu, Kerry said he was “hopeful” he could build on ideas to stop the violence. Saturday, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli security forces when he allegedly tried to stab a security guard at a checkpoint.
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