25 October 2015•Update: 05 November 2015
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud on Saturday evening received U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and an accompanying delegation at his palace in Saudi capital Riyadh.
According to the official Saudi Press Agency, the two men discussed recent developments in the region, especially in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories -- where more than 50 Palestinians have been killed this month by Israeli security forces -- and in war-ravaged Syria.
Following a meeting with the king, Kerry also met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, who also serves as the country’s deputy premier and interior minister.
Kerry, who is currently on a tour of the troubled Middle East region, arrived in Riyadh on Saturday evening from Jordan.
Before leaving Amman, Kerry announced that an agreement had been reached between Israel and Jordan calling for the installation of cameras in East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque, which has been the site of recent violent clashes between Palestinian Muslim worshippers and Israeli security forces.
Since the start of October, at least 55 Palestinians and 10 Israelis have been killed in violence -- which Kerry’s trip to the region is ostensibly aimed at ending -- in Israel, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The violence first erupted last month when the Israeli authorities began a harsh crackdown on Palestinian Muslim worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex – considered Islam’s third-holiest site -- while allowing extremist Jewish settlers to enter the area in large numbers.
Ali Abo-Rezeg contributed to this report
