The United Nations (UN) Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, on Thursday, released the following statement regarding the surge in tensions and violence in the occupied West Bank.
“I am deeply concerned by the surge in tensions and violence in the occupied West Bank, since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
In the past few days alone, two Palestinians, including a woman and a child, were killed in separate incidents, by Israeli forces in the context of clashes or attacks. An Israeli was killed by a Palestinian in a drive-by shooting and several others injured. I reiterate that the Israeli forces must exercise maximum restraint and only use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. Perpetrators of violence on all sides must be held accountable and swiftly brought to justice.
The latest developments related to the eviction of Palestine refugee families in Sheikh Jarrah and other neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem are also very worrying. I urge Israel to cease demolitions and evictions, in line with its obligations under international humanitarian law.
I call on political, religious and community leaders on all sides to stand firmly against violence, incitement and inflammatory rhetoric. If unaddressed, the situation could spiral out of control.”
In related news, the presidential spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, on Friday, held the Israeli government responsible for the rising tensions across the occupied West Bank, Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported.
Rudeineh added that the Israeli occupation is also culpable for the recent attacks on Palestinian families and solidarity activists in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and the killing of two young men in Jenin on Friday.
He pressed for the US Biden administration to stop Israel’s assaults “so that matters do not reach a stage that cannot be controlled.”
~ UN, WAFA
