BREAKING NEWS

White House silent on Temple Mount crisis

JULY 23, 2017 00:42

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration had offered no comment since Wednesday on the escalating crisis over the Temple Mount, ground zero in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where a dispute over security measures has led to violence on both sides and mass riots across the Arab world.

In his final prepared statement as White House press secretary before resigning on Friday, Sean Spicer said the US was “very concerned” by the situation and would “continue to closely monitor” developments on the ground.

But after a fatal stabbing of three Israelis in their home kitchen at Neveh Tzuf (Halamish), the deaths of at least three Palestinian protesters and a speech on Friday night from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announcing an end to contact with Israeli officials, the White House offered no comment, preoccupied with its own internal political turbulence. White House officials were not available to respond to this reports.

Spicer resigned on Friday after President Donald Trump appointed a new communications director, against his objections.

Earlier in the week, a State Department spokesman warned both Israel and the PA to avoid any actions that would deepen tensions.

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