Netanyahu to meet Kerry in Berlin as violence continues

Benjamin Netanyahu was in Berlin last night ahead of a high-profile meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, aimed at restoring calm after weeks of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

However, even as Israel’s Prime Minister left for today’s meeting, the clashes continued. In one incident, a Palestinian stabbed a female soldier near Jerusalem, critically wounding her, police said, before he was shot and killed by security forces.

Elsewhere, Israeli troops shot a teenage Palestinian girl in the West Bank after she allegedly approached a settlement with a knife. Relatives identified the girl as a 14-yearold from a nearby village. Also yesterday, the Israeli military said a rocket from the Gaza Strip had been fired at Israel, but caused no injuries.

During a month of violence, 10 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian assailants, mostlyin knife attacks, while 47 Palestinians – including 26 described by Israel as attackers – have been killed by Israeli fire.

The meeting with Mr Kerry comes after several days of intense diplomatic efforts to end the violence. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has already rushed to the region to urge calm, meeting Mr Netanyahu onTuesdayand MrAbbas yesterday. Mr Ban said the only way to end the violence was “through visible progress toward a political solution”.

The meeting comes after days of intense diplomatic efforts