Roundup: UN condemns killing of innocent Israelis, calls for end to occupation

The United Nations condemned Thursday the recent flare-up of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from both sides, saying the fatal stabbings of innocent Israelis amount to "murder" and Palestinians need an end to "stifling and humiliating occupation."

Deputy UN Secretary-General Jan Eliasson made the statement at a quarterly debate on the Middle East held in the UN Security Council.

"The eruption of violence gripping the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as Israel and Gaza, shows no signs of abating," he said.

Raising the specter of a religious war, he said "the failed peace initiatives and the reluctance of leaders on both sides to take the bold steps necessary to make progress create a highly combustible reality, a reality in which Israel's security concerns remain unmet and the Palestinian national struggle risks taking on an ever more violent dimension -- and this in a region already plagued by violent religious extremism."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been traveling the Middle East speaking with leaders in Israeli, the occupied State of Palestine and Jordan.

"In all his exchanges he condemned and conveyed alarm at the upsurge in attacks and violence over the past two weeks and offered his deep condolences to the people of Israel and Palestine," Eliasson said. "He also had meetings with victims and their families on both sides."

Ban's deputy told the 15 council members that in the first three weeks of October, 47 Palestinians and seven Israelis were killed and more than 5,000 Palestinians and about 70 Israelis injured.

More than 50 speakers were listed for the day-long session including 10 at the ministerial level.

"There is nothing 'heroic' about the killing of an innocent man and the serious injury of his wife and two-year old child as they walked through Jerusalem's Old City, or the stabbing of a 65-year-old woman near a bus station in Tel Aviv, or the killing of an Israeli couple while driving with their four children. This is murder, full stop," Eliasson said.

"There is no justification whatsoever for murder," he added.

The remarks by Eliasson -- perhaps emboldened after returning from his own trip to the Middle East -- were unusually strong for an officer of the world organization, indicating the feeling of frustration over the nearly five-decade old conflict.

Fears Israel was going to further limit or bar Muslims from sites in Jerusalem holy to Arabs, Christians and Jews, apparently touched off the latest flare-up of violence.

The recent proposal by France for stationing an international force in Jerusalem to maintain the status quo was welcomed by Palestinians and rejected by Israel.

"The Security Council must address the dangerous situation in occupied East Jerusalem," said Riad Malki, the Palestinian foreign minister. "Efforts are necessary to ensure that Israel, the occupying power, complies with its obligation to preserve the status quo in Jerusalem, including and especially regarding Al-Haram A1- Sharif, which houses the Holy A1-Aqsa Mosque."

"It is clear that Israel is determined to preserve the status quo of occupation, nothing more," he said. "This is unacceptable and unsustainable, as all have recognized, and will only lead to further escalation, with untold consequences. For months, the Israeli government has fanned the flames of hatred and religious fervor by allowing, and even participating in, provocations, incitement and raids at A1-Haram A1-Sharif."

The foreign minister said "We have repeatedly warned that such Israeli actions risk igniting a religious conflict with grave implications, This reckless course of action must stop now."

Riad was immediately followed by Danny Danon, the newly appointed UN ambassador of Israel, who made his first appearance before the council on Thursday.

"This is not a cycle of violence," he said of the recent attacks against Israelis. "These are simply unprovoked attacks against Israelis."

"Like any country, Israel has the right and obligation to defend its citizens and this is exactly what we are doing," Danon said. "Any country whose people were being attacked in the streets on a daily basis would act in the exact same way."

However, while some speakers blamed the Observer State of Palestine for fomenting the violence -- which it denied -- others condemned Israel for reacting to attacks with a disproportionate amount of force.

"Palestinian terrorists have chosen Israeli victims at random, using rifles and rocks, butcher knives, screwdrivers, and even 2-ton vehicles to shed the blood of innocents," he said.

"When someone leaves their home holding a kitchen knife with the intention of killing another person -- any person -- this stems from a deep hatred ... a culture of hate," the ambassador said.

Remarks other than those of Eliasson were generally predictable, much as were those of Israel and the State of Palestine. Almost all speakers called for the two-state solution with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace. Enditem