JERUSALEM (AP) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for calm during a surprise visit to Jerusalem ahead of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
The visit comes amid unrest that erupted a month ago over rumors that Israel was plotting to take over Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. A spate of Palestinian attacks, most of which have involved stabbings, has caused panic across Israel and raised fears that the region is on the cusp of a new round of bloodshed.
The hilltop compound in Jerusalem’s Old City is revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, site of the two Jewish biblical Temples. It is the holiest site in Judaism.
Known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, it houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. It is the third-holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Israel has insisted it has no plans to change the status quo at the site, where Jews are allowed to visit but not pray.
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