UN boss urges calm in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM — In a highprofile gambit to bring an end to a month-long wave of violence, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for calm during a surprise visit to Jerusalem on Tuesday ahead of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
The visit occurs amid unrest that erupted a month ago over tensions surrounding Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims. It soon spread to Arab neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem and then to the West Bank, Gaza and Israel. A spate of Palestinian attacks, most of which have involved stabbings, has caused panic across Israel and raised fears that the region is on the cusp of a new round of bloodshed.
On Tuesday evening, Israel’s military said its forces killed a Palestinian during a clash along the border with the Gaza Strip. A military statement said the soldiers identified Palestinians preparing to attack soldiers on the Gaza border and “foiled the attack, firing toward the snipers, hits were confirmed.”
It said the attackers are from the same cell that has fired on forces near the border before. Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra said three Palestinians were injured as well.
Earlier, a Palestinian attacker rammed his car into a group of Israelis waiting at a bus stop at a junction on the outskirts of Jerusalem in the West Bank, the Israeli military said. He then attempted to stab bystanders. A civilian and a soldier were injured in the attack before the attacker was shot and killed, it said.
That attack came soon after a 24-year-old Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces after he stabbed an Israeli military officer and lightly wounded him, the Israeli military and Palestinian health officials said. The military said it happened during a violent Palestinian protest.
In a separate incident in the West Bank, an Israeli man was killed after being run over during a clash with Palestinians. The man exited his car after Palestinian demonstrators threw stones at it and he began to hit passing Palestinian cars with a large stick, according to an Associated Press photographer who witnessed the incident. The man hit a passing truck with the stick, and the truck ran the man over. The Israeli military confirmed his death.
Ban arrived from Europe Tuesday and is set to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He called for calm during a press conference with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and said “no society should live in fear.”
“My visit reflects the sense of global alarm at the dangerous escalation in violence between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said. “I am here to encourage and support all efforts to lower tensions and prevent the situation from spinning out of control.”
Ban added, “It’s not too late to avoid a broader crisis.”
He said he understood the Palestinians’ frustrations, but that violence would only harm their aspirations.
“I know your hopes for peace have been dashed countless times. You are angry at the continued occupation and expansion of settlements,” he said. “I am not asking you to be passive, but you must put down the weapons of despair.”
Addressing Israelis, he said he understood their fears due to the security deterioration, but said there was no military solution.