The UN Secretary-General, António
Guterres, and senior UN officials have expressed their deep concern over
confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces
in East Jerusalem, particularly those which began on Friday
evening, and continued into Sunday night. Several Palestinian
children are among the wounded.
The violence on Friday has been described as some of the worst
seen in Jerusalem for many years. Some 200 Palestinians and 17
Israeli Police were reportedly injured in fighting around Haram
Al-Sharif/Temple Mount. On Saturday, protesters reportedly threw
stones at police, who responded with stun grenades, rubber
bullets and water cannons and, on Sunday, fighting continued in
East Jerusalem, ahead of a planned march by an Israeli group
through the Old City.
On Monday morning in New York, the Security Council meet behind
closed doors to receive a briefing from the UN Special
Coordinator for the region, Tor Wennesland.
The official spokesperson for Mr. Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric,
said in a statement published on Sunday evening, that Israeli
authorities must exercise maximum restraint and respect the right
to freedom of peaceful assembly.
“All leaders have a responsibility to act against extremists and
to speak out against all acts of violence and incitement”, the
statement continued. “The Secretary-General reiterates his
commitment, including through the Middle East Quartet, to
supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict on
the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, international
law and bilateral agreements”.
The Envoys of the Middle East Quartet (from the European Union,
Russia, the United States, and the United Nations), released a
press statement on Saturday, in which they expressed their alarm
at “the provocative statements made by some political groups, as
well as the launching of rockets and the resumption of incendiary
balloons from Gaza towards Israel, and attacks on Palestinian
farmland in the West Bank”.
Imminent risk of eviction
The Quartet representatives went on to declare their concern
regarding the possible evictions of Palestinian families from
homes, in which they have lived in for generations, in two
neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem – Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan – and
their opposition to “unilateral actions, which will only escalate
the already tense environment”.
This is a reference to a court case involving several
Palestinians who face eviction due to a legal challenge by the
Nahalat Shimon settler organization. The risk is considered to be
imminent for four of the families.
The UN has called for on the Israeli Government to halt all
forced evictions and on Thursday, Rupert Colville, the
spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR),
warned that, if they take place, the evictions in the Sheikh
Jarrah case would violate Israel’s obligations under
international law.
Saturday’s fighting took place on Laylat-al-Qadr, the most holy
day in the Muslim month of Ramadan, after large numbers of
worshippers had prayed at the Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount
compound. In their statement, the Quartet
Envoys called on the Israeli authorities to exercise restraint
and to avoid measures that would further escalate the situation
during this period of Muslim Holy Days.
“We call on all sides to uphold and respect the status quo at the
holy sites”, the statement continues. “All leaders have a
responsibility to act against extremists and to speak out against
all acts of violence and incitement”.
The statement concluded with a reiteration by the Quartet Envoys
of their commitment to a negotiated two state solution.
37 Palestinian children injured and arrested
On Sunday, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, urged the Israeli
authorities to refrain from using violence against children and
release all those children detained.
In a joint statement, Ted
Chaiban, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North
Africa, and Lucia Elmi, UNICEF Special Representative in the
State of Palestine, noted that 29 Palestinian children have been
injured over the past two days, and a further eight arrested. “A
one-year-old toddler was among those injured. Some children were
taken for treatment at hospitals, with injuries in the head and
the spine. This comes amid reports that nearly 300 people were
injured in the area”.
The senior UNICEF officials said that the agency had received
reports of ambulances being restricted from arriving on location
to assist and evacuate the injured, and that an on-site clinic
was reportedly hit and searched.
The statement called for all children to be protected from
violence and kept out of harm’s way at all times, for families’
rights to access all places of worship to be preserved, and for
those injured to be assisted without restrictions.
