U.N. leader urges calm amid escalating Palestinian-Israeli violence
Source: USA Today
In a surprise visit to Jerusalem on Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for calm, saying "no society should live in fear," in the latest attempt to stem escalating violence in the region.
Later, he was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Palestinian President Abbas and other senior officials in a bid to help defuse tensions.
Over the past month, 10 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings, and 44 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 21 described by Israel as attackers. The rest died in clashes with Israeli troops. An Eritrean migrant died Sunday after being mistakenly shot by an Israeli security guard and then beaten by a mob that mistook him for a Palestinian attacker.
“My visit reflects the sense of global alarm at the dangerous escalation in violence between Israelis and Palestinians,” Ban said during a press conference with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday, according to AP. “I am here to encourage and support all efforts to lower tensions and prevent the situation from spinning out of control.”
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/10/20/israel-arrests-senior-hamas-leader/74255198/
Israeli soldiers in the West Bank