The United Nations Security Council urged Israel and the Palestinians on Tuesday to avoid actions that can further inflame tensions in the volatile region.
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The statement was backed by both the United States and Russia in a moment of unity on a divisive issue, reflecting the widespread international concern at the escalating violence.
The statement followed what UN Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland called "an alarming spike in violence" in the West Bank that led to numerous Palestinian and Israeli casualties. He warned the council that "unless decisive steps are taken now to rein in the violence, there is a significant risk that events could deteriorate further."
Council members called for restraint and "encouraged additional steps to restore a durable calm and de-escalate tensions."
The United States, Israel's closest ally, supported the council statement and US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the council that the Biden administration shares Wennesland's alarm.
He said the US was "horrified by the brutal terror attack against Israelis" near the West Bank town of Eli on June 21 that killed four and injured several others and condemned it "in the strongest terms." He also condemned "the recent extremist settler attacks against Palestinian civilians, which have resulted in a death, injuries and significant damage to their property."
Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan criticized the council of underreporting the 3,500 attacks Palestinians have committed against Israelis since the beginning of the year.
He condemned the violence against Palestinian civilians and said Israel is "working tirelessly" to find and hold those responsible accountable. He pointedly noted that the Palestinians have not condemned the murders of innocent Israelis.
Erdan accused the Palestinians of seeking "the destruction of the very notion of a Jewish state." He said if Israel withdrew from the West Bank, the Hamas terror group would take control as it did in Gaza.
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