RAMALLAH, Apr 25 (NNN-PNN) – UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, yesterday called on Israel and Palestine, to avoid escalation in East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
“I condemn all such acts of violence, and I reiterate my call upon all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further escalation, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan,” he said in a press statement.
Over the past two days, violent clashes broke out in East Jerusalem between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli forces, during their protests against assaults by extreme Jewish groups in the city.
In support of the protests in East Jerusalem, militant groups, including the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), fired a barrage of rockets and projectiles from the Gaza Strip towards southern Israel.
Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses said, Israeli fighter jets struck early yesterday, military posts and facilities that belong to militant groups in Gaza, in response to the rocket fire.
“I am alarmed by the recent escalations in Jerusalem and around Gaza,” Wennesland said. “The provocative acts across Jerusalem must cease and the launch of rockets towards Israel must stop.”
