UNITED NATIONS —
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday
pleaded for an immediate end to deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence, warning a
Security Council meeting that the fighting could plunge the region into an
"uncontainable" crisis.
اضافة اعلان
"Fighting must stop. It must stop immediately," Guterres said as
he opened a Security Council session delayed by Israel's ally the United
States, calling the violence that has killed nearly 200 people over the past
week "utterly appalling".
"It has the potential to unleash an uncontainable security and
humanitarian crisis and to further foster extremism, not only in the occupied
Palestinian territory and Israel, but in the region as a whole," he said.
Guterres condemned the fresh
violence on Sunday which killed 40
Palestinians, the worst death toll since the unrest broke out.
"This senseless cycle of bloodshed, terror, and destruction must stop
immediately," Guterres said.
He also renewed criticism of an Israeli strike on Saturday that destroyed
the Gaza offices of two major news outlets, Al-Jazeera and the Associated Press.
"Journalists must be allowed to work free of fear and harassment. The
destruction of media offices in Gaza is extremely concerning," Guterres
said.
Israel launched its air offensive after Hamas, began firing rockets in
response to the Israel’s moves in Jerusalem.
"Rockets and mortars on one side and aerial and artillery bombardments
on the other must stop. I appeal to all parties to heed this call,"
Guterres said.
He also voiced alarm at the rise of extremist Jewish movements whose push to
expel Palestinians out of Jerusalem helped trigger the crisis.
"In Israel, violence by vigilante-style groups and mobs has added a
further horrendous dimension to an already deteriorating crisis," Guterres
said.
"Leaders on all sides have a responsibility to curb inflammatory
rhetoric and calm the rising tensions."
Read more Region & world
.jpg)
.jpg)
