Bethlehem - Ma'an - Dr Saeb Erekat, the PLO's chief negotiator, on Sunday called on the US and Europe to demand that Israel end incitement against worshipers in East Jerusalem.

"The international community must intervene and demand an end to Israeli incitement," Erekat said in a statement. "Otherwise we fear that violence may spiral out of control."

At least 30 Palestinians were injured and some 20 arrested following the arrival of Israeli forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday morning. Nine Israeli police officers were also hurt in the clashes, which sparked amid announcements from right-wing Jewish groups and individuals, including Israeli parliament members, vowing to "ascend" the compound area under armed guard.

"This latest assault on the Al-Aqsa compound is part of a systematic and deliberate policy of incitement," Erekat continued, condemning what he termed Israel's latest violence against Palestinian worshippers in the occupied eastern half of the holy city. "By escalating tensions to the point of violence, the Israeli government is looking for an escape clause to avoid meaningful negotiations."

The PLO official urged Israel not to let extremists set the agenda.

"These are not the actions of a partner for peace, but a coalition of political forces in Israel that have consistently opposed peace between Palestinians and Israelis," he said. "Israel is intensifying the violence of its occupation against ordinary Palestinians while it relentlessly pursues its colonization of occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank."

In the coming days, President Mahmoud Abbas will be meeting with King Mohammed VI of Morocco, who chairs the Organization of the Islamic Conference's Al-Quds (Jerusalem) committee, Erekat announced. Abbas is expected to call on members of the committee to take decisive action to demand that Israel halt all settlement construction and other provocative policies in East Jerusalem.

The PLO chief said recent tensions in East Jerusalem were a direct result of Israeli policies on the ground, and a natural reaction to the daily humiliations that Palestinians are made to suffer. These include the rapid expansion of settlements, scores of home demolitions and forced evictions, and the "deliberate suffocation of Palestinian life and the Palestinian economy," he said.

"The tensions created by these policies highlight why an immediate freeze on Israel's ongoing settlement construction and Palestinian home demolitions is essential to restarting negotiations," Erekat noted.

Neighboring Jordan similarly urged Israel to keep a closer eye on extremists.

"Jordan... is extremely worried about what is taking place and warns against going ahead with this provocative behavior on the part of Israeli troops," said Nabil Sharif, the kingdom's minister of state for media and communications, in a separate statement.

"Any new provocative attempts by Israeli troops and Jewish extremists such as what happened today in the shrine's compound represent a flagrant violation of international law and conventions and set the stage for more tension and acts of violence," Sharif added, urging "an immediate end to such dangerous practices which threaten to derail all opportunities of peace and stability in the region."

On Monday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry also expressed concern over "Israel's actions in Jerusalem."