Members of the United Nations Security Council met virtually Sunday to deliberate on the escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Over the last past week, …
Members of the United Nations Security Council met virtually Sunday to deliberate on the escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Over the last past week, more than 180 Palestinians and 10 people in Israel have been killed. Hamas militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel while Israel has responded with airstrikes. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres opened the meeting by expressing his concerns that if a cease-fire isn’t reached soon, violence will continue and the situation will spiral out of control. He called the current hostilities «utterly appalling.» «This latest round of violence only perpetuates the cycles of death, destruction and despair…. The fighting must stop, it must stop immediately,» Guterres said. «The rockets and mortars on one side, aerial and artillery bombardments on the other, must stop. I appeal to all parties to hear this call. The United Nations is actively engaging all sides for an immediate cease-fire.» Weeks of sporadic violence intensified in East Jerusalem earlier this month following protests over evictions of Palestinian residents from properties Jewish settlers are claiming as their own. And on May 6, Israeli police in riot gear confronted crowds of Muslim worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In some cities inside Israel, Jewish and Palestinian mobs have attacked property and each another. Palestinian Arabs account for about 20% of Israel’s population.
