Palestinians warn Israel against raising tensions

Occupied Jerusalem: A senior Palestinian official on Tuesday accused Israel of deliberately creating "an extremely dangerous situation" in Occupied East Jerusalem, to trigger violence, justify a crackdown and tighten its grip on the disputed city.

"Israel is lighting matches in the hope of sparking a fire, deliberately escalating tensions in occupied East Jerusalem rather than taking steps to placate the situation," chief peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement before meetings later this week with US President Barack Obama's envoy.

Palestinian leaders have issued a series of dire warnings in the past week after clashes at Al Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem's Old City between Israeli police and protesters, over alleged attempts by Jewish activists to enter the site.

The Israeli government has said little about the incidents.

Palestinian sources say they fear that "small brushfires" may quickly spiral out of control as they have done in the past, if the Israelis maintain a "heavy-handed" response instead of making an effort to de-escalate tensions.

The Western-backed Palestinian government on Monday said it would "confront Israel" diplomatically over the rise in tension, after another day of clashes between groups of stone-throwing youths and police firing tear-gas and plastic bullets.

A statement said the government of President Mahmoud Abbas would use all legal means to "protect our people and to confront Israel and its plan to thwart any efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied in 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital".

Erekat said the current situation was "all the more dangerous" because of the "vacuum created by the absence of a credible peace process that offers hope".

Obama's peace envoy George Mitchell is due back in occupied Jerusalem this week to continue efforts to revive stalled peace talks between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.