“The situation in Palestine is extremely serious and grave and may even deteriorate. This is my fear,” Abbas said in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday, where he met with the European Union (EU)’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, to seek help from the bloc to de-escalate the current tensions.

Abbas said one of the main reasons behind the recent wave of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories is the fact that the Palestinian youths are hopeless.

“The main reason is the feeling of disappointment [among] the young generation,” who feel that there is “no hope,” he said.

He lashed out at the Tel Aviv regime for what he called Israel’s “non-respect” for the rules at the holy al-Aqsa Mosque in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), which is at the center of violence.

“What we are looking for... is to come back and stick and commit to this status quo [over holy sites] that unfortunately has been neglected and ignored” by the Israeli regime, he said.

Abbas also called on the Israeli regime to halt illegal settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and prevent “incursions” on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

There has been growing confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians over the past few weeks.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 60 Palestinians have lost their lives and 7,100 others sustained injuries at the hands of Israeli forces since the beginning of the month.

The fresh wave of tensions in the occupied territories was triggered by the Israeli regime’s imposition in August of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.

Palestinians are also angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers, who frequently storm the al-Aqsa Mosque; Press TV reported.

S/SH