Jerusalem remains relatively calm on Friday amid heavy security

Amid heavy security and restricted access to a key holy site, Jerusalem remained fairly calm Friday,

Citing efforts to reduce unrest around the Temple Mount, police restricted access to the Al Aqsa mosque to Muslim men over age 35. Young men barred from worshiping there prayed in nearby streets of the Old City where Israeli security was deployed in high numbers.

Palestinian anger over Israeli policies in Jerusalem has boiled over in recent weeks with the shooting of a Jewish activist last week and the deaths of two Israelis run over by a Palestinian driver in a van on Wednesday.

The streets surrounding the sensitive holy site were relatively quiet while 17-year-old Shalom Baadani was buried Friday. The Jerusalem teenager died two days after he was hit while riding his bicycle to the Western Wall.

The Palestinian driver, Ibrahim Akkari, was shot dead by police after a 500-yard rampage. Clashes erupted Friday in the refugee camp of Shuafat in north Jerusalem, where protesters held a mock funeral in support of his act.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Palestinian and Muslim claims that Israel seeks to undermine Al Aqsa as a slanderous campaign. “This is absolutely not our policy; we stand behind the status quo arrangements,” the prime minister said, stressing Israel stands behind the right of Jews to access the site of the Temple Mount as visitors and of Muslims to worship at Al Aqsa.

At the same time, Netanyahu rejected other criticism of his policy in Jerusalem and defended Israel’s right to build throughout the city, including areas annexed after the 1967 war, a policy widely rejected by the international community.

“Jerusalem is a very sensitive issue…but it is also our capital and as such it is not a settlement,” Netanyahu said, adding that Jewish neighborhoods built on those lands would remain under Israeli sovereignty in any peace deal.

Israel’s recent announcement of controversial construction plans in Jerusalem have met with strong criticism from Palestinians and the international community. Netanyahu has clashed repeatedly and publicly over the issue with the U.S., which calls such developments unhelpful. On Friday, the prime minister insisted settlements were not the cause of the conflict with the Palestinians and called it a “bogus claim.”

Netanyahu made his remarks during a meeting with Federica Mogherini, visiting Jerusalem on her first trip outside Europe as foreign policy chief for the European Union. Mogherini expressed concern about recent events in Jerusalem and the lack of progress in talks with the Palestinians.

The European Union encourages direct talks “to find the solution of the two states: Israel living in full security….and the Palestinians having a proper state,” said Mogherini, pledging full support for any step going in that direction.

Earlier this week, Mogherini criticized announced construction in Jerusalem, saying it jeopardized efforts to resume the diplomatic process and calls into question Israel’s commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. She is also scheduled to hold meetings in Ramallah during her two-day trip to the region.

In his remarks welcoming Mogherini, Netanyahu addressed Iran’s controversial nuclear program as a deadline for an agreement with the West nears. Leaving Iran with even “residual capacity to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb, ultimately this will destabilize the world,” Netanyahu cautioned, adding, “better no deal than a bad deal.”

Amid reports of President Obama sending a secret letter to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Israeli leader applauded international efforts but warned this should not “come at the expense of efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”

Sobelman is a special correspondent.