U.N. calls for Israeli probe after deadly clashes
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said latest clashes were ‘yet another worrisome sign of violence potentially spiraling out of control’
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Israel on Tuesday to conduct a full investigation of recent clashes in Occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank and criticized the demolition of Palestinian houses.
Ban said a “prompt and transparent” probe of the recent violence in which a 13-year-old was killed by Israeli soldiers would serve to determine “whether the use of force was proportional.”
More clashes erupted on Tuesday, including in Bethlehem following the funeral of the teenage boy. Four Palestinians have died in recent days.
Ban said that the latest clashes were “yet another worrisome sign of violence potentially spiraling out of control.”
He added that demolishing Palestinian homes could “inflame tensions still further” after Israel destroyed two houses owned by Palestinians who allegedly attacked Israelis last year.
The U.N. chief called for “urgent action by both sides” to curb the violence including through security cooperation.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said earlier that he wanted to avoid an escalation amid fears that the clashes could trigger a new uprising.
-
Abbas does not want ‘escalation’ with Israel
Abbas’s statement came after Israel announced harsher measures to tackle engulfed violence with Palestinians Middle East -
Israel toughens measures against Palestinians
Violence in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem has intensified in the past few weeks Middle East -
Israel accuses Hamas of settler deaths
Tensions have been further inflamed by frequent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at al-Aqsa compound Middle East -
Israeli air raid hits Gaza after rocket attack
Israel carried out the air attack in response to a Palestinian rocket from the territory that hit open ground in southern Israel Middle East -
Palestinians, Israeli forces clash amid holy site tensions
Israel has barred Muslim men under the age of 50 from entering the compound in recent days in a move it says is aimed at easing tensions Middle East -
World Bank: Israel-Palestine conflict ‘high risk’
percentage of the population living under the poverty line has reached 39 percent in Gaza and 16 percent in the West Bank Middle East -
Israel broadens rules on use of live fire against stone-throwers
Netanyahu has publicly “declared war” on those who throw rocks and petrol bombs Middle East