The United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has remained deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation, particularly the incidents in and around the holy sites in Jerusalem.
In a statement released by the UN Chief Spokesperson on Wednesday, while engaged Palestinian and Israeli leaders to do all they can to lower tensions, avoid inflammatory actions and rhetoric, and restore calm.
"The provocations must stop immediately. The ongoing holy days for Muslims, Jews, and Christians should be a period of peace and reflection, not incitement and violence", UN Secretary General said.
He reiterated that the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem must be upheld and respected, added that he is committed to support Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements.
The Secretary-General also reaffirmed the need to avoid the excessive use of force and to stop all unilateral measures, like settlements and evictions, that can undermine the two-state solution.
Reports gathered revealed that Israel carried out its first airstrike on the Gaza Strip in months early Tuesday, in response to a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave after a weekend of violence around a Jerusalem holy site.
The army also said its special forces had made five arrests overnight in the occupied West Bank, which has seen a string of deadly Israeli raids since several recent fatal attacks against the Jewish state.
The latest tensions have focused on the highly contested Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Israeli-annexed Old City.
Palestinian worshippers gathering there for Ramadan prayers have been outraged by visits by religious Jewish under heavy Israeli police protection as well as restrictions on their own access.
The violence, coinciding with the Jewish Passover festival as well as the Muslim holy month, has sparked fears of a repeat of last year’s events, when similar circumstances sparked an 11-day war that levelled parts of Gaza.
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