16 October 2015•Update: 17 October 2015
NEW YORK
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Friday over the recent surge of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
The session was requested by council member Jordan following a closed-door meeting Thursday of Arab diplomats at the UN.
On Wednesday, Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters that the situation in occupied East Jerusalem was "very explosive" and that the Security Council must take action to quell the violence.
At least 32 Palestinians, including seven children, and seven Israelis have been killed in the past two weeks of conflict that some observers are calling a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
The level of violence has got worse since last month when the Israeli authorities launched a crackdown on Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, which is Islam’s third-holiest site, while allowing groups of extremist Jewish settlers to enter the site in large numbers.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces massively increased its presence in East Jerusalem on Thursday as part of a measure that also allows Israeli police to impose blockade on neighborhoods considered "centers of friction".
