West Bank mosque torched in suspected revenge attack

Suspected extremists torched a West Bank mosque in an apparent revenge attack Nov. 12, as the Palestinian leader and the U.S. top diplomat were to meet Jordan's King Abdullah over the spiralling violence.

Months of unrest have escalated in recent days, spreading from annexed east Jerusalem to the occupied West Bank and Arab communities across Israel, and raising fears of a new Palestinian uprising.

With the situation showing no signs of abating, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was to hold talks in Amman with the king ahead of a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, officials said.

The meetings were expected to focus particularly on the tensions at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam where Jordan has custodial rights.

Jordan has expressed mounting concern over Israel's actions at the compound, which is also the holiest place in Judaism. "The situation has become explosive," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.        

"The Palestinian position will be made crystal clear: the Israeli violations are a red line and cannot be tolerated - especially with the tension and Israeli escalation in Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem," he said.

The international community has also expressed growing alarm over the deteriorating situation, with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon demanding that both sides do everything possible "to avoid further exacerbating an already tense environment."    

Blair warns about escalation   

Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair urged both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to "call for restraint and an end to hostile and provocative acts."       

But the tit-for-tat violence showed no signs of abating with a pre-dawn arson attack on a...