Abbas accuses Israel of igniting ‘religious war’

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has warned against places of worship becoming points of conflict, as tensions remain high over right-wing Jewish demands to be able to pray inside Jerusalem's holiest compound.

His remarks – made during a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat – came amid continuing clashes in Israel and the West Bank during which Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian demonstrator near the city of Hebron.

Abbas warned Israel of turning the current political conflict into a religious one. "This is a crucial time, there's terrorism, religious conflict and violence. It is us who pay the price, the blood of our children," Abbas said.

"I am warning against turning a political conflict into a religious one. Let's talk about politics not religion."

Abbas’s comments mark the latest salvo in the war of words between senior Israeli political figures and Palestinians who blame each other for provoking the recent violence.

The clashes of the past three weeks – which have included four deadly attacks and an attempted assassination – have been exacerbated by tension over Israeli-controlled access to Jerusalem’s holiest place, revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and site of the al-Aqsa mosque, and by Jews as the mount where ancient Jewish temples once stood.

Under a longstanding arrangement, Jews are allowed to visit during certain hours but not to pray at the site – an arrangement high-profile activists, including some MPs in the Israeli parliament, would like to change.