Senior UN official urges Israel to honour agreements with King

UNITED NATIONS — The “serious provocations” around the holy sites of Jerusalem can potentially ignite violence “well beyond” the old city, a UN official warned on Tuesday.

In a briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, as clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces continued for the third day, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said all sides have a responsibility to refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric.

“It is imperative that the historic status quo is preserved, in line with the agreements between Israel and His Majesty the King of Jordan, as custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem,” Mladenov told the Security Council, according to a UN statement.

Calling for policy shifts in Israel and serious commitment by the Palestinians to achieving unity, the UN coordinator urged Tel Aviv to recognise the potential of the Arab Peace Initiative for creating a “shared security architecture in a region that is in turmoil”.

“I think what the secretary general would like to see is a real renewed push for the peace process,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, told reporters in a briefing.

In his remarks via video conference to the Security Council, Mladenov said Ban will chair a meeting of the Middle East Peace Quartet on September 3 to discuss “how to link regional and international efforts to create conditions on the ground for a return to meaningful negotiations”.

Asked whether discussions at the meeting will address the possibility of expanding the membership of the Quartet, Dujarric said “that issue may be part of the discussions within the Quartet”, but stopped short of commenting further on the matter.

Young demonstrators gathered around Al Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday and threw stones at Israeli security forces who had entered the compound in large numbers and responded with stun grenades, Agence France-Presse reported.

The protesters fear Israel is seeking to change rules governing the site which allow Jews to visit but not pray, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the status quo will be preserved, according to AFP.