USA-KERRY/SPAIN RAJOY Israeli, Palestinian leaders need to clarify status around al-Aqsa mosque, says Kerry

Record ID: 134995

  • Title: USA-KERRY/SPAIN RAJOY Israeli, Palestinian leaders need to clarify status around al-Aqsa mosque, says Kerry
  • Date: 19th October 2015
  • Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (OCTOBER 19, 2015) (REUTERS) FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING / NEWS CONFERENCE WITH KERRY AND GARCIA-MARGALLO IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE, JOHN KERRY, SAYING: "Israel has every right in the world to protect its citizens as it has been from random acts of violence, but in my conversations with the Prime Minister (of Israel), as
  • Embargoed: 3rd November 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Spain
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAR290KD70J23SZNCVMKG8KI0R
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday (October 19) called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to clarify the status around the al-Aqsa compound and agree on steps that can be taken to calm unrest during talks this week.
    "Israel has every right in the world to protect its citizens as it has been from random acts of violence, but in my conversations with the Prime Minister (of Israel), as well as with King Abdullah and the Foreign Minister of Jordan, they have express a desire to try to see this process be able to find a way of making certain that everybody is clear about what is happening with respect to the Temple Mount," Kerry said at a news conference in Madrid with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, on the second day of an official visit to Spain.
    As part of his visit to Spain, Kerry also met Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and was due to meet Spain's King Felipe later in the day.
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was committed to maintaining the status quo at the holy site, Kerry said.
    "Israel has made it clear to me that they do not intend to and have not changed the status quo, and I think it is important for me to meet with the Prime Minister and talk about the road ahead. We have a long standing, extremely close, very important relationship with respect to Israeli security, and security will be front and centre in our discussions. Obviously the United States remains deeply concerned about and engaged in efforts to help Israel with respect to its security, but we also share a global interest in seeing the region find the way forward to avoid this kind of confrontation and senseless loss of lives," said Kerry.
    Daily attacks in Israel have sparked a sense of panic in violence triggered in part by Palestinians' anger over what they see as increased Jewish encroachment on the al-Aqsa mosque, which is Islam's holiest site outside Saudi Arabia and also revered by Jews as the location of two destroyed biblical temples.
    I don't have specific expectations except to try to move things forward, and it will depend on the conversations themselves, as to what it is that we are able to define in the context of steps that might or might not be taken to help people understand that, in fact, leaders are leading and making a serious effort to try to resolve the current level of conflict," he added.
    Kerry also said he would meet with leaders from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Russia in Europe later this week to explore options for a political transition in Syria.
    "You have to sit down and talk to each other in order to explore those kinds of possibilities. So I don't enter discussion with the specific expectation except to try to understand better for all of us, what our options are and how we may be able to proceed forward. And President Obama has made it very clear that he feels the responsibility and assumes responsibility for our country doing our part to be able to try to avoid the complete and total destruction of Syria and all the negative implications that come with that," said the Secretary of State.
    Kerry will travel back to Washington on Monday for talks at the White House before returning to Europe.
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