Secretary of State John Kerry
Secretary of State John KerryThinkstock

United States Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday warned Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas not to incite violence against Israelis, amid mounting unrest in Jerusalem, AFP reported.

Since the recent spate of violence began the United States has repeatedly urged both sides to show restraint, but Kerry's remarks were the first aimed explicitly at Abbas.

"There's no excuse for the violence," Kerry was quoted as having told NPR News in excerpts of an interview which will air in full on Friday.

"No amount of frustration is appropriate to license any violence anywhere at any time. No violence should occur. And the Palestinians need to understand," Kerry added.

"President Abbas has been committed to non-violence. He needs to be condemning this, loudly and clearly," he said.

"And he needs to not engage in some of the incitement that his voice has sometimes been heard to encourage. So that has to stop."

Kerry confirmed in the interview he plans to travel to the region "in the coming days," amid reports that a meeting could be arranged between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Abbas in Jordan.

While this marks the first time that Kerry has directly reprimanded Abbas, Netanyahu has continuously pointed out the PA’s constant incitement against Israel which is one of the principle causes of the latest terror wave.

Just this Monday, Abbas’s Fatah group made an open call for attacks in Jerusalem - a day before three Jews were murdered in two attacks in the city.

Fatah posted on its official Twitter account a cartoon, showing a masked terrorist playing a knife as a violin and using a large key as a bow symbolizing the "return" of Palestinian Arabs, reported Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) which revealed the tweet.

Abbas gave a fiery speech on Wednesday evening in which he accused Israel of "executing" a 13-year-old Palestinian teenager who carried out a brutal stabbing spree in Jerusalem. The 13-year-old terrorist is in fact alive and receiving medical treatment from Israel.