US Officials to Visit Middle East This Week to De-Escalate Tensions in Jerusalem - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Senior US State Department officials will head the Middle East this week to attempt to cool down tensions in Jerusalem, Axios reported on Tuesday.

Acting assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Yael Lempert and Deputy Assistant Secretary Hady Amr will arrive in the region on Wednesday to visit Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, the report said, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

Clashes on the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem, which houses Al-Aqsa - the third holiest Islamic site - and Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra mosques, are continuing for the third day, and the Israeli security forces are using rubber bullets, noise bombs and tear gas.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli forces broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, clearing the temple of worshipers. They prevented other believers from reaching the Temple Mount and opened the Mughrabi gate to crowds of settlers who had been storming it in the morning.

On Friday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that over 340 Palestinians were injured in clashes with the Israeli forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Apart from Jerusalem, clashes also took place in Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Qalqilya and Nablus.

The United Nations considers West Bank and East Jerusalem to be occupied by Israel. Palestine's desire to return control over these territories is one of the key issues in its long-standing conflict with Israel. Tel-Aviv refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity, and builds settlements in the occupied areas, despite objections from the UN and international organizations.