European UN Security Council members urge end to violence in Israel, Palestine

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A half-dozen current and former European members of the UN Security Council demanded an end to violence in Israel and Palestine on Tuesday.

"We are following with deep concern the escalating tensions, including in East Jerusalem where recent clashes took place at the holy sites. We echo the secretary-general's call for calm and de-escalation. Violence needs to stop immediately," Albania, Norway, France, Estonia and Ireland said in a verbally-issued statement.

"We condemn all acts of terrorism, and the firing of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel. The deteriorating security situation highlights the need to restore a political horizon for a credible peace process," they added.

The appeal came as the Council met behind closed doors to discuss ongoing unrest in Jerusalem.

Tensions have been running high across Palestinian territories since the beginning of April amid repeated Israeli arrest campaigns in the occupied West Bank.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured Friday in clashes with Israeli forces in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.

Daily settler incursions into the site to celebrate the week-long Jewish Passover holiday have further inflamed the situation.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community.