UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – At the start of this week, Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem’s Old City, particularly at the holy site of Haram al Sharif. The clashes subsided on Wednesday, after the Jewish New Year holiday ended on Tuesday night.
"The members of the Security Council called for the immediate cessation of violence, and for all appropriate steps to be taken to ensure that violence ceases, that provocative actions are avoided, and that the situation returns to normality in a way which promotes the prospects for Middle East peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians," the council said in a Thursday statement.
"The members of the Security Council underscored that Muslim worshippers at the Haram Al-Sharif must be allowed to worship in peace, free from violence, threats and provocations," he stressed.
Palestinians want to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, partially occupied by Israel, and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and want Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories it took after the Six-Day War in 1967.
Palestinians object to allowing Jews to hold prayers inside the Haram al Sharif compound currently restricted to Muslims.
