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Palestinians protest outside UN offices in Gaza amid tensions with Israel

Xinhua, November 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Dozens of Palestinians protested in front of the offices of the UN Development Program (UNDP) in Gaza on Monday, calling upon the international organization to assume its responsibilities of protecting Palestinians.

The protesters prevented UN employees from entering or leaving the building in response to a call by a group known as "Intifada youth coalition."

The group called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to act and stop the Israeli "attacks" against the Palestinian people.

A spokesperson of the "Intifada youth coalition" told Xinhua that the event was organized "to send a message of anger and denunciation to the UN for being biased towards Israel and not assuming its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people."

He called on the United Nations to act quickly in order to "curb the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians," saying that "the region would flare up and enter a conflict, which even the international community can't contain."

Ban visited Palestine and Israel 10 days ago in an attempt to contain the tension that has been flaring since the beginning of October.

During Ban's visit to the Palestinian presidential headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his request for providing the Palestinians with international protection.

The current wave of violence has claimed the lives of 74 Palestinians in confrontations with Israeli army in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the health ministry said. In return, 10 Israelis were killed in stabbing and running over attacks carried out by Palestinians.

Tensions initially started with clashes between Palestinian worshippers and the Israeli police in East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound in September. Palestinians protested what they called Israeli plans to limit the access of Palestinians to the site. Endit