Blinken, Middle East Leaders in Talks to Quell Israel-Palestinian Violence

A general view shows the Dome of Rock mosque in Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on April 18, 2022. (AFP)
A general view shows the Dome of Rock mosque in Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on April 18, 2022. (AFP)
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Blinken, Middle East Leaders in Talks to Quell Israel-Palestinian Violence

A general view shows the Dome of Rock mosque in Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on April 18, 2022. (AFP)
A general view shows the Dome of Rock mosque in Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on April 18, 2022. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Israeli, Palestininan and Jordanian leaders to discuss recent violence in Israel and the West Bank that has escalated tensions in the region, officials said on Tuesday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said he updated the top US diplomat on Tuesday about Israel's efforts to ensure freedom of worship in Jerusalem, after clashes with Israeli riot police on Friday inside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in which at least 152 Palestinians were wounded.

Lapid blamed "hundreds of Islamic extremists" for rioting and spreading disinformation that inflame tensions.

"I told @SecBlinken that Israel will not tolerate calls in support of violence, and I emphasized the need for international support for returning calm to Jerusalem," he said on Twitter.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Abbas told Blinken on Tuesday that "brutal attacks" by Israeli forces and settlers on the mosque compound and Israeli incursions into Palestinian cities and villages "will lead to dire and unbearable consequences," Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Israeli security forces have been on high alert after a series of deadly Arab street attacks throughout the country over the past two weeks. Confrontations at the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem's walled Old City pose the risk of sparking a slide back into a broader conflagration like last year's Gaza war.

In a call on Monday, Blinken and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi discussed the importance of Israelis and Palestinians working to end the violence and refraining from escalatory actions, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

"Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of upholding the historic status quo at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, and appreciation for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s special role as custodian of Muslim holy places in Jerusalem," Price said in a statement Tuesday.

Jordan's King Abdullah said Israel's "unilateral" moves against Muslim worshippers at Al-Aqsa mosque undermined the prospects for peace in the region, state media said.

The monarch, in a call with the United Nations secretary general on Monday, blamed Israel for "provocative acts" in the mosque compound that violated "the legal and historic status quo" of the Muslim holy shrines.

King Abdullah’s Hashemite monarchy has been custodian of the sites since 1924, paying for their upkeep and deriving part of its legitimacy from the role.

Tensions this year have been heightened in part by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan coinciding with the Jewish celebration of Passover.



Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel's attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel's war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024.

Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and on Monday said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich's attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client's innocence would be proven beyond doubt, reported Reuters.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild.

Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

The hostages' deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and outraged hostages' families, who accused Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks that had faltered in the preceding weeks for political reasons.

Netanyahu vehemently denies this. He has repeatedly said that Hamas was to blame for the talks collapsing, while the group has said it was Israel's fault no deal had been reached.

Four of the six slain hostages had been on the list of more than 30 captives that Hamas was set to free if a ceasefire had been reached, according to a defense official at the time.

The Bild article in question was published days after the hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. It outlined Hamas' negotiation strategy in the indirect ceasefire talks and largely corresponded with Netanyahu's allegations against the militant group over the deadlock.

Bild said after the investigation was announced that it does not comment on its sources and that its article relied on authentic documents. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A two-month ceasefire was reached in January this year and included the release of 38 hostages before Israel resumed attacks in Gaza. The sides are presently engaged in indirect negotiations in Doha, aimed at reaching another truce.

In his statement on Monday, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara's announcement was "appalling" and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu's government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.