Saudi Arabia warned on Saturday of the situation between Palestinians and Israelis slipping into a further dangerous escalation, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Kingdom condemns the targeting of civilians, stressing the need to stop the escalation, and work on reviving the peace process and putting an end to the occupation, the statement said.
Seven people died on Friday in a gun attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem and two others were wounded in an attack in the city on Saturday morning.
The shootings came after nine Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Also on Saturday, Russia’s foreign ministry called for “maximum restraint” following violence in Israel and the West Bank that marked another escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We perceive this development of events with deep concern. We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and prevent further escalation of tension,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Recent events clearly confirm the need to urgently relaunch a constructive Palestinian-Israeli dialogue and to renounce unilateral actions,” it added.
The European Union denounced this week’s attacks in Jerusalem and urged Israel to only use lethal force as a last resort.
“The European Union fully recognizes Israel’s legitimate security concerns, as evidenced by the latest terrorist attacks, but it has to be stressed that lethal force must only be used as a last resort when it is strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,” said the bloc’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday he was “deeply shocked” by the “terrible” attacks in Jerusalem.
“There have been deaths and people wounded in the heart of Israel,” he said.—AN
