Arab League chief says Israel 'playing with fire' over Jerusalem

A Palestinian attacker stabbed to death three Israelis on Friday, and hours earlier three Palestinians were killed. In Jerusalem on Saturday, Israeli police used riot gear to disperse dozens of Palestinians who threw stones and bottles at them. "Jerusalem is a red line that Muslims and Arabs cannot allow to be crossed,… and what is happening today is an attempt to impose a new reality on the Holy city," Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.

"The Israeli government is playing with fire and risking a major crisis with the Arab and Islamic world."

Arab League foreign ministers will hold emergency talks in Cairo on Wednesday, the group said in a statement. The United Nations Security Council plans to meet on Monday to discuss the bloodiest spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence for years. Sweden, Egypt and France requested the meeting to urgently discuss de-escalation in Jerusalem. Israeli military commanders have warned violence may escalate. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the suspension of all official contact with Israel until it removed the metal detectors at the holy compound in Jerusalem, where Muslims pray at Al-Aqsa mosque.

He gave no details, but current contacts are largely limited to security cooperation. Israel's security cabinet was due to convene on Sunday and is expected to discuss alternative security measures that could be used to replace the metal detectors, according to two Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.