Abbas to Shin Bet chief: I am unable to calm the tensions

(A7) Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas told Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar during a meeting this week that he is unable to calm the tensions in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, Kan 11 News reported on Friday.

The meeting between Abbas and Bar took place on Sunday in Ramallah. A senior PA official quoted by Kan 11 News said that the PA chairman criticized Israel and told the Shin Bet chief, “Where is the horizon you promised?”

According to the PA official, Abbas told Bar that the key to calming the area was in Israel’s hands and not in his hands. The PA chairman also protested to the head of the Shin Bet that the confidence-building measures promised to him by Defense Minister Benny Gantz have not yet been fully implemented.

Bar’s meeting with Abbas came as part of the attempts to calm the area in the wake of the escalation during and before Ramadan. According to the Palestinian Arabs, Bar did not raise the issue of recent incitement by senior Fatah officials.

Clashes on the Temple Mount resumed on Friday morning following prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Arab rioters threw rocks and shot fireworks at security forces, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. One of the rocks landed inside the Western Wall plaza.

Police arrested two Arab rioters.

Clashes also broke out on the Temple Mount on Thursday morning, when police dispersed several dozen rioters on their way out of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, arresting one.

Worshippers at the scene also attempted to quell the disturbance, preventing rioters from causing further damage before police arrived.

Police released a statement, saying they would “continue to allow freedom of worship while taking measures against the rioters and lawbreakers harming the multitude of worshippers at the holy site.”