Violence between Israelis and Palestinians threatened to spiral out of control Saturday with two more Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip, two stabbings outside Jerusalem's Old City and more West Bank clashes.
Jerusalem, Israel - While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and president Mahmud Abbas have sought to avoid an escalation, frustrated Palestinian youths have defied efforts to restore calm and a wave of stabbings has spread fear in Israel.
Both leaders said they had spoken with US Secretary of State John Kerry, each putting the blame on the other. Netanyahu said he told Kerry he expected the Palestinian Authority to stop its "wild and mendacious incitement, which is causing the current wave of terrorism".
And Abbas said he reiterated the need for Israeli authorities to stop giving cover to "settler provocations, carried out under the army's protection".
Kerry had shared his "deep concern" over the violence in separate conversations with the two, his office said in a statement, and "stressed the importance of upholding the status quo in word and deed at the al-Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount and of preventing inflammatory rhetoric and actions that will increase tensions."
A rocket fired by Gaza militants late Saturday was intercepted above southern Israel, the army said.
In the early hours of Saturday a rocket hit southern Israel without causing casualties, shortly after clashes along the border saw Israeli forces kill seven Palestinians.
Further clashes Saturday killed two more Palestinians.
Rioting has shaken annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, with Palestinians throwing stones and firebombs at Israeli security forces, who have responded with live fire, rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades.
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