Kerry voices cautious optimism after talks with Israel PM

US secretary of state to meet Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah next in bid to ease Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

The US secretary of state John Kerry held four hours of talks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin on October 22, 2015. Carlo Allegri / via AP

Berlin // The US secretary of state John Kerry on Thursday expressed “cautious optimism” about defusing the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian violence after talks in Berlin with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The two met as part of a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at halting the cycle of violence, which erupted on October 1 and has raised fears of a new Palestinian intifada.

Following their four-hour meeting, Mr Kerry said he had “a cautious measure of optimism that there may be some things that could be, in the next couple of days, put on the table”.

He said the aim was to encourage all parties “that there is a way to defuse the situation and begin a way forward”.

The US state department said “constructive proposals” had been raised at the talks which included “steps Israel could take to reaffirm yet again the continued commitment to maintaining the status quo” at the flashpoint Al Aqsa mosque compound, which is also considered holy by Jews.

Mr Kerry said he discussed several issues with Mr Netanyahu which he would raise with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who has previously played a key role in mediation between the two sides.

“If parties want to try – and I believe they do want to move to a de-escalation – I think there are sets of choices that are available,” he said, expressing hope that “we can seize this moment and pull back from the precipice”.

Since October 1, at least 49 Palestinians and one Israeli Arab have been killed, including alleged attackers. Eight Israelis have been killed in attacks.

In the latest violence, a Palestinian man was shot dead and another critically wounded after they allegedly attempted to board a bus carrying children in Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem. Israeli police they were repelled by the driver and others and then stabbed a passerby, moderately wounding him, before being shot.

Alarmed by the wave of violence, UN chief Ban Ki-moon made a surprise visit to the region this week to meet with both sides, but said on Wednesday he was “not optimistic” about finding ways to calm the situation.

On Thursday, he met King Abdullah in Amman and stressed “the responsibility of Arab leaders to encourage calm and to ensure that this crisis does not get out of control”.

Meanwhile in Berlin, Mr Netanyahu met separately with the German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the EU foreign police chief Federica Mogherini.

Representatives of the Middle East Peace Quartet, which comprises diplomats from the UN, the EU, the US and Russia, are to meet over the situation in Vienna on Friday, Ms Mogherini said.

Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly accused Mr Abbas of fanning the flames and has rejecting allegations Israel has used excessive force in separate talks with both Mr Ban and the German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Earlier this week, the Israeli leader himself stirred controversy by claiming it was a Palestinian religious leader, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who gave Adolf Hitler the idea of exterminating the Jews.

Speaking to the Security Council by videolink on Wednesday, Mr Ban delivered a sobering assessment of prospects for a return to calm, saying there was no time to waste. Details of his update, which was presented behind closed doors, were relayed by a diplomat.

He also presented a report on international protection after the Palestinians called for the deployment of an observer force in occupied and annexed east Jerusalem.

The report outlines 17 cases – from Trieste after World War Two to Kosovo in 1999 – when the Security Council stepped in and set up special regimes to guarantee the protection of civilians.

After meeting Mr Ban on Thursday, King Abdullah reiterated his warning to Israel against any move to change the status quo at the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Clashes there between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters triggered the latest round of violence.

Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly accused Mr Abbas of incitement by suggesting Israel wants to change the status quo at the compound. The Israeli leader has insisted he has no intention of changing the rules.

* Agence France-Presse