Abbas intifada warning

Speaking after talks with French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Tuesday, Abbas (left in photo, with Hollande) called recent clashes at a Jerusalem site holy to both Jews and Muslims "very dangerous," and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the violence.

"If the situation were to continue, the alternative would be chaos or an intifada that we do not want. We must ask Netanyahu to stop, to order the cessation of the events occurring in Jerusalem, and that he stop settlements," Abbas said.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, was the scene last week of days of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians who had barricaded themselves inside.

The violence came among rising tensions surrounding the site, with Muslims alarmed by an increase in visits by the Jews that they see as heralding a possible change in rules governing the compound, where Jews are allowed only to visit, and not to pray, to avoid provoking animosities.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the conditions for using the site will not change.

Potential for clashes

Israeli authorities fear that more violence is likely when the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha coincides on Wednesday with the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.

Ahead of the Yom Kippur fast, which begins Tuesday evening, Israel reinstated a ban on Palestinian men under age 40 from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque in a bid to ensure calm, and will close West Bank and Gaza crossings during the holiday.

In a sign of the increasingly tense situation, Israeli forces shot a Palestinian attacker on Tuesday after she tried to stab a soldier at a West Bank checkpoint. The condition of the woman was not immediately known, while the soldier remained uninjured.

French peace initiative

Hollande called for peace, calm and respect of principles, adding that he was intensifying his contacts with regional leaders "in view of the gravity of the situation."

For several months, France has been urging the establishment of an international group committed to bringing about peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The group is to include the so-called Mideast Quartet (the US, Russia, the EU and the UN), member states of the UN Security Council, and other Arab and European countries.

Abbas said he supported the proposal.

tj/msh (Reuters, AFP, AP)