UN urges Israeli-Palestinian calm ahead of holidays

The United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, issues a statement calling on Israelis and Palestinians to “take measures to preserve calm” in the midst of a new spate of violence:

I am disturbed by the recent violence over the past week. During this latest upsurge in attacks in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, at least six Israelis were injured. Five Palestinians and one Jordanian national were killed while carrying out or allegedly carrying out attacks.

I reiterate the United Nations position that there can be no justification for terror and violence. I call upon authorities on both sides to take measures to preserve calm and avoid escalation, especially during the upcoming period of the Jewish High Holy Days.