Int'l presence not needed at Jerusalem

US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that a proposed international presence at the Jerusalem holy site at the center of escalating Israeli, Palestinian tension and violence is not needed.

Instead, he said what is needed is clarity over pledges by Israel to maintain the status quo at the hilltop compound revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine and a key national symbol for the Palestinians.

"We don't contemplate any change, but nor does Israel," Kerry told reporters at a news conference in Madrid. "Israel understands the importance of that status quo. What is important is to make sure everybody understands what that means. We are not seeking some new change. We are not seeking outsiders or others to come in ... "

"We need to have clarity," he said. France has proposed action at the United Nations that could see an international presence to ensure the status quo at the site, where Jews are allowed to visit but not pray.

Kerry noted that not only are the US and Israel opposed to the move, so is Jordan, which governs the agreement regarding the site.

Meanwhile, an Eritrean man has died after being mistakenly shot and beaten by a mob during an attack in Israel, as a wave of Palestinian violence spread fear and defied international calls for calm.

Sunday night's mob violence came after a gunman also armed with a knife stormed a bus station in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, killing a 19-year-old Israeli soldier and wounding around 10 others.

The gunman was killed, while a security guard at the bus station shot the 26-year-old Eritrean thinking he was a second attacker. A mob also beat him, Israeli media reported.

Palestinian students pray in a classroom in Hebron for their former classmate (portrait), who was killed by a female Israeli soldier after she tried to stab her. Photo: AFP