U.N. calls for calm in Israel
Ban Ki-moon arrives in Jerusalem and reaches out to both sides as deadly violence continues.
JERUSALEM — As violence continued to roil the Middle East, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon arrived Tuesday for a flash visit and talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.
The U.N. chief met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was set to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“These are difficult times for Israelis and Palestinians. I am here in the hope that we can work together to end the violence, ease the tensions and begin to restore a longterm political horizon of peace,” Ban said at a news conference with Netanyahu.
In a video message before the trip, Ban expressed his dismay at the sight of “young people, children, picking up weapons and seeking to kill,” and cautioned that violence would undermine both the “legitimate Palestinian aspirations for statehood and the longing of Israelis for security.”
Addressing young Palestinians, the secretary-general said, “I understand your frustration.” However, he called on them to “put down the weapons of despair.”
He also offered understanding for Israelis’ anger. “When anyone on the street is a potential victim, security is rightly your immediate priority,” he said, adding, however, that checkpoints and demolitions would not sustain the peace and safety they need.
Ban’s arrival came amid a U.N. bid to end the violent eruption that has left nine Israelis dead in Palestinian attacks and claimed the life of an Eritrean asylum seeker who was mistakenly shot by an Israeli security guard and beaten by an angry mob.
According to the independent Palestinian news agency Maan, at least 45 Palestinians have been killed. About half were shot as they allegedly perpetrated attacks or attempted to do so, the news agency said.
His visit preceded U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry’s planned meetings this week with Netanyahu and Abbas, who are to meet with Kerry in Germany and Jordan, respectively.
As diplomatic efforts were underway, however, unrest continued throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, leaving one Israeli and three Palestinians dead. And Israel announced the arrest of a top founder of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip.
Army spokesman Peter Lerner said Hassan Yousef was taken into custody after “actively instigating and inciting terrorism” by publicly encouraging and praising the attacks against Israelis.
“Hamas’ leaders cannot expect to propagate violence and terror from the comfort of their living rooms and pulpits of their mosques,” Lerner said.
A soldier and a civilian were injured in the West Bank area of Gush Etzion on Tuesday when a Palestinian driver tried to ram a car into a bus stop and then tried to stab them, the army said. The driver was shot dead by security forces and was not immediately identified.
Another Palestinian was fatally shot near the village of Beit Awwa after lightly injuring an Israeli army officer with a knife, according to the military.
And a 27-year-old Palestinian man was shot to death, and three others were injured, by Israeli fire during protests in the central Gaza Strip, according to Gaza medical authorities.
Earlier, Avraham Asher Hasano, 50, from the settlement of Kiryat Arba, was killed when he was run over by a truck driven by a Palestinian man. Hasano had stopped by the side of the road after his car was pelted with rocks.
The truck driver, who turned himself in to Palestinian police, told them it was an accident.
Sobelman is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Rushdi abu Alouf in the Gaza Strip contributed to this report.