Palestinians wary of Kerry’s al-Aqsa monitoring plan

Palestinian officials reacted warily to what John Kerry, the US secretary of state, hailed as Jordan’s “excellent suggestion” to calm Israeli-Palestinian violence by putting a sensitive Jerusalem holy site under constant video monitoring.

“This is a new trap,” said foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki on Voice ofPalestine radio, accusing Israel of planning to use such footage to arrest Muslim worshippers it believes are “inciting” against it.

Although Israeli security forces control the al-Aqsa mosque compound and Jordan is its religious custodian, it was unclear how new cameras could be installed without stoking more violence at the flashpoint site if Palestinians objected to them.