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The UN’s Mideast envoy prevented casting blame on both aspect for the current violence at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount throughout an replace to Safety Council members at an emergency assembly convened on Tuesday, two diplomats acquainted with the matter informed The Occasions of Israel.
In a press release launched after the closed-door assembly, Wennesland targeted on expressing his considerations over the escalation whereas calling on leaders to take steps to scale back tensions and keep away from additional provocations.
Israel had been involved concerning the chance that it could be solely blamed for the clashes, given the massive variety of movies circulating on social media since Friday exhibiting Israeli officers getting into Al-Aqsa Mosque and putting journalists, girls and kids all through the compound.
In an effort to sway Safety Council members forward of the Tuesday assembly, Israel’s International Ministry despatched every of their delegations a communique that included video clips of Palestinians hurling rocks and different objects at Israeli troops on the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Mosque compound together with a message asserting that Israel is dedicated to sustaining the established order on the Temple Mount, an Israeli official informed The Occasions of Israel.
The Palestinian UN Mission was additionally in contact with Safety Council members, sending updates of its personal on the unstable scenario on the holy web site from the previous a number of days, a UN diplomat acquainted with the matter says. The diplomat stated that the Palestinian mission pressed members to “break its silence” on the matter and subject a joint assertion condemning Israeli actions, however such a step would’ve required the unanimous help of members.
The vast majority of the 15 member states ended up echoing the sentiment expressed by the UN envoy of their respective statements throughout the closed-door assembly, in response to the 2 UN diplomats, who famous that the Emirati and Chinese language representatives led a minority of nations who had been significantly vital of the conduct by Israeli police on the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Regardless of its longstanding ties with Israel, China has lengthy been some of the vital UN member states of Jerusalem’s insurance policies, significantly throughout final yr’s Gaza conflict.
The UAE then again has more and more voted with Israel on varied UN initiatives for the reason that two international locations normalized ties in 2020. However on the difficulty of Jerusalem, Abu Dhabi seems to align itself squarely with the remainder of the Arab world, which doesn’t settle for any demonstration of Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount. The UAE summoned Israel’s ambassador on Tuesday to specific its objections over police conduct on the flashpoint web site.
In his post-meeting assertion, Wennesland stated: “I’m deeply involved concerning the trajectory of occasions over the previous couple of weeks in Israel and the occupied West Financial institution which have resulted in lots of civilians killed and injured.”
Fifteen individuals had been killed in Israel in 4 separate terror assaults over the previous a number of weeks. The IDF has expanded its exercise geared toward nabbing terror cells all through the West Financial institution, and this has led to the killing of 17 Palestinians for the reason that starting of the month. Most, however not all, had been gunned down whereas clashing with Israeli troops.
“Significantly worrying are the heightened tensions we now have witnessed in Jerusalem in current days, within the Previous Metropolis and in and across the Holy Websites throughout a interval of holy days for Muslims, Jews and Christians,” Wennesland stated.
On Friday, officers even entered Al-Aqsa Mosque itself, the place younger Palestinians had been stockpiling rocks and fireworks. In the course of the clashes that ensued, some 400 individuals had been arrested and greater than 150 Palestinians had been injured. Such clashes have continued, although much less intensely, within the day that adopted as nicely.
“The UN has remained in shut contact with all related events to de-escalate the scenario. This dialogue has been constructive and I encourage continued engagement between the related events,” stated the UN envoy.
“At this significant second, when tensions stay excessive and a few tough days nonetheless lay forward, all efforts to decrease tensions ought to be inspired, whereas provocations, spreading of misinformation and incitement to violence ought to be categorically rejected,” he stated.
Notably, the UN envoy’s reference to “spreading of misinformation and incitement” are practically equivalent to the speaking factors utilized by Israeli officers who’ve claimed in current days that Hamas and different extremist teams had launched a marketing campaign geared toward stoking tensions, erroneously claiming that Israel is aiming to violate the established order on the Temple Mount. This has led to 1000’s of Palestinians to converge on the holy web site in current days with the intention of “defending Al-Aqsa.”
Israel insists that it’s dedicated to the established order beneath which Muslims could go to and pray on the compound, whereas Jews could solely go to throughout restricted time slots. Israeli authorities additionally arrested a handful of Jewish extremists who had been in search of to carry out a Passover sacrifice on the web site by slaughtering a goat.
However Israeli police have additionally in recent times allowed for Jews to quietly pray as they’re ushered via the location by staff of Jordan’s Islamic Waqf in what quantities to a delicate violation of the delicate established order on the location, which many Palestinians view because the central element of their nationwide id and one of many few remaining locations the place they get pleasure from a level of sovereignty.
Wennesland concluded his assertion by stressing that “leaders on all sides have a duty to scale back tensions, create the situations for calm and guarantee the established order on the Holy Websites is protected.”
Standing alongside the ambassadors of France, Eire, Estonia and Albania, Norway’s Ambassador to the UN Mona Juul issued what was described as a joint assertion backing the remarks made by Wennesland throughout the assembly.
“We help all efforts to de-escalate and reiterate the decision on all sides to train most restraint and to interact in de-escalatory efforts,” Juul stated.
“We condemn all acts of terrorism and the firing of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel,” she added, referring to the rocket fired from Gaza a day earlier. “The deteriorating safety scenario highlights the necessity to restore a political horizon for a reputable peace course of.”
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