Israel eased restrictions at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday after US Secretary of State John Kerry announced an agreement on steps to reduce tensions at the flashpoint compound. The site, holy to both Jews and Muslims, has been the focus of months of unrest in annexed Arab east Jerusalem, that has spread to the occupied West Bank and Arab communities across Israel, raising fears of a new Palestinian uprising.
The Palestinians have been infuriated by a far-right Jewish campaign for prayer rights at Al-Aqsa that threatens an ultra-sensitive, decades-old status quo. The violence prompted Kerry to hold a flurry of meetings with the two sides in neighbouring Jordan on Thursday, after which he announced unspecified confidence-building measures.
Men of all ages were allowed entry for the main weekly Muslim prayers at Al-Aqsa for the first time in "months", Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP. "It's been four months that I haven't been able to pray at Al-Aqsa on Friday, even during the holy month of Ramadan," Amir, 18, from east Jerusalem's volatile Silwan neighbourhood told AFP.
Police said 40,000 worshippers attended the prayers, which passed off without incident. Rosenfeld linked the decision to lift age restrictions to Kerry's talks in Jordan with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah II. "Firm commitments" were made to maintain the status quo, Kerry said at a news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.
Israel and Jordan, which has custodial rights at the compound, also agreed to take steps to "de-escalate the situation" in Jerusalem and to "restore confidence". "We are not going to lay out each practical step. It is more important they be done in a quiet and effective way," Kerry said. "It is clear to me that they are serious about working on the effort to create de-escalation and to take steps to instil confidence that the status quo will be upheld."
Kerry met separately in Amman with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who he said also committed to help calm emotions. "President Abbas and I... discussed constructive steps, real steps - not rhetoric but real steps that people can take - in order to de-escalate the situation and create a climate where we can move forward in a positive and constructive way," Kerry said. "President Abbas strongly restated his firm commitment to non-violence, and he made it clear that he will do everything possible to restore calm and to prevent the incitement of violence and to try to change the climate." German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is also due in the Palestinian territories and Israel from Saturday for talks with leaders on both sides, a spokesman in Berlin said Friday.
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