Obama condemns violence in Israel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack
Obama on Friday condemned the recent outbreak
of violence in Israel and urged Israel Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas to tamp down their
rhetoric.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms
violence directed against innocent people,"
Obama said in a news conference.
For two weeks, tensions about access to the Al-
Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a holy site
for both Muslims and Jews, have led to violence
that has seen at least 37 Palestinians and seven
Israelis killed.
Netanyahu, Abbas and other people in positions
of power need to "try to tamp down rhetoric that
may feed violence or anger or misunderstanding,"
Obama said.
"I don't think we can wait for all of the issues
that exist between Israelis and Palestinians to be
settled in order for us to try to tamp down the
violence right now," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who traveled
to Europe on Friday, is expected to meet
Netanyahu next week.
In another sign of Washington's concern about
the need to defuse the situation and end the
violence, U.S. General Joseph Dunford, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is slated to
visit Israel next week.
Obama reiterated his support for a two-state
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but
noted past efforts by his administration to broker
peace talks have foundered.
"I think it's going to be up to the parties, and we
stand ready to assist to see if they can restart a
more constructive relationship," he said.