In meeting with Netanyahu, Kerry seeks clarity on Temple Mount status
BERLIN - US Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Berlin Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he hopes will help ease spiraling tensions and violence with the Palestinians.
A senior official traveling with Kerry says the secretary would use the Germany talks to try to "change the tone of the public discourse" between Israel and the Palestinians and clarify the status of the Temple Mount, the holy site at the center of the tensions.
Kerry, who will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday in Jordan, has said he wants clarity about the status quo about the site, but officials say he doesn't believe that needs to be in writing.
With only a general outline of goals in these discussions, Kerry arrived here intending to listen as much as talk, as he steers attempts to restore relative calm in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
