UNITED NATIONS, November 12 (RIA Novosti) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern over the recent killings in Israel and the West Bank, calling for measures to be taken to avoid a further aggravation of the situation.
"The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the upsurge in violence and killings over the past few days in Israel and the West Bank. Violence only deepens distrust, while making more distant the prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians," a statement released by Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Tuesday said.
"The Secretary-General calls on all sides to do everything they possibly can to avoid further exacerbating an already tense environment. His thoughts are with the families of the victims," the statement added.
Earlier on Tuesday, an Israeli Defense Army (IDF) representative told RIA Novosti that additional forces would be deployed in the West Bank after the recent stabbings of Israelis.
The emphasis will be made on crowded places and zones where the Arab and Jewish populations live side by side, according to the representative.
On Monday, an Israeli soldier was stabbed to death near a crowded Tel Aviv train station. In a separate incident on the same day, a 25-year-old Israeli woman was also stabbed to death in a busy traffic circle in the occupied West Bank. The attacks were attributed to Palestinians.
The killings followed mass protests of Arabs in Israel over the killing of an Arab man by Israeli police. Kheir al-Din Hamdan, 22, was shot to death in Kfar Kana village when he tried to escape from the Israeli police officers after threatening them with a knife.
Rioting took place in Arab communities and universities across the country over the weekend, with the most violent protests in Kafr Kana, northern Israel.
On Sunday, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would adopt harsher measures against protesters.
Tensions between Arabs and Jews grew after Israel's prime minister announced plans to construct new housing units in East Jerusalem, ordering on Friday to destroy the houses of Arabs who live in Israel and who took part in recent attacks against Jews in Jerusalem. The attacks have been qualified as terrorist acts.
