Kerry to see Abbas, Jordan's Abdullah on Jerusalem strife
US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Jordan on Wednesday for talks with Jordanian King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about tensions in Jerusalem, the State Department said.
Violence has flared in the past few weeks over Jerusalem's most sacred and politically sensitive site, revered by Muslims as Noble Sanctuary, where al-Aqsa mosque stands, and by Jews as the Temple Mount, where their biblical temples once stood.
Tensions over the compound, the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest place in Judaism, have fuelled repeated clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in recent weeks, culminating in a one-day closure of the mosque last month.Kerry will meet Abbas in Amman and plan to have a dinner on Thursday with King Abdullah in the seaside resort of Aqaba, a senior State Department official said.
