WASHINGTON (AFP)---US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday accused the Palestinians of inciting violence by mischaracterizing the re-opening of a synagogue in Jerusalem as an attack on Muslims.
"It is purely and simply an act of incitement," she said in a 45-minute address to to the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most prominent pro-Israeli lobby in Washington.
The conference room was packed with 7,500 attendees.
"These provocations are wrong and must be condemned for needlessly inflaming tensions and imperiling prospects for a comprehensive peace," she said.
The United States had previously rejected Palestinian criticism of the rededication of the historic Hurva synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the old city.
Clinton charged that "instigators" of violence had "deliberately" mischaracterized the rededication in calling on Palestinians to defend nearby Muslim holy sites against "attacks."
The synagogue was rebuilt and reopened March 15, 62 years after it was destroyed in fighting with Jordan.
"Those who preach violence must be proven wrong," said Clinton.
"When a Hamas-controlled municipality glorifies violence and renames a square after a terrorist who murdered innocent Israelis, it insults the families on both sides who have lost loved ones over the years."
She was referring to Dalal al-Mughrabi, the Palestinian woman who carried out a suicide attack in 1978 that killed 37 civilians, including one American. The square named in al-Mughrabi's honor is actually located in Ramallah, which is in Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah-controlled West Bank.
The renaming was held two weeks ago, during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel.
"For President Obama, for me, and for this entire administration, our commitment to Israel's security and Israel's future is rock solid," she said.
"Guaranteeing Israel’s security is more than a policy position for me. It is a personal commitment that will never waver," Clinton, who was scheduled to meet later with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the US capital.
Alluding to Israel's recent announcement of a new housing project in East Jerusalem, Clinton declared: "As Israel's friend, it is our responsibility to give credit when it is due and to tell the truth when it is needed."