Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasFlash 90

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday blamed Israel for the ongoing tensions in Jerusalem.

Abbas, who spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, said that the “Israeli escalation” is dangerous and must be stopped.

He further told Kerry that Israel's actions will only lead to “the expansion of the circle of violence and extremism in the region.”

The conversation between Abbas and Kerry was held one day after the Fatah faction, led by Abbas, called for a "day of rage" in response to Israel’s closure of the Temple Mount to Muslims, which was quickly reversed in any case following international pressure.

Abbas's group lost no time in praising the Arab terrorist who tried to assassinate Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Fatah on its official Facebook page slandered Glick, who has struggled for Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount, as an "extremist Zionist," and further called the terror attack "the assassination of the despicable Glick," while praising the terrorist Mu'taz Hijazi who was later eliminated as a "heroic martyr."

Abbas himself declared that Israel's closure of the Temple Mount following Glick’s is tantamount to a "declaration of war."

Two weeks ago, Abbas called for Palestinian Arabs to stop Jews from ascending the Temple Mount - Judaism's holiest site - "by all means."

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)