“We call upon Israeli authorities to exercise restraint and to avoid measures that would further escalate the situation,” the envoys said in a joint statement. The Quartet is made up of nations and international entities involved in mediating the Israel-Palestinian peace process,including the European Union,Russia,the US and the United Nations.
Separately,the US,a strong ally of Israel,said late on Friday it was “extremely concerned about the ongoing confrontations in Jerusalem”,noting that they’ve resulted “scores of injured people”.
“We call on Israeli and Palestinian officials to act decisively to de-escalate tensions and bring a halt to the violence,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
Dozens were injured in the clashes on Friday night after tens of thousands gathered at the third-holiest mosque in Islam to mark the end of Ramadan under a heavy police presence,the Associated Press reported. Clashes broke out with worshippers throwing chairs and rocks and police in riot gear firing rubber bullets and using grenades,the AP said.
After another night of clashes,the Israeli military reported rocket fire early Sunday local time from Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip,the AP said. No one was reported injured.
In a statement,Bahrain’s foreign minister called on Israel to immediately stop any further provocation of the people of Jerusalem. Israel’s plan to evict people from Jerusalem “violates the resolutions of international legitimacy,and undermines the chances of resuming the peace process to achieve security and stability in the region”.
‘End All Attacks’