UN Security Council to discuss escalating hostilities between Israel and Palestine today

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The UN Security Council is set to discuss the conflict in Gaza & Israel today after a row of recent violence carried out by both parties.

Currently, Israel is facing one of its worst communal violence in years wherein the ongoing military escalation has led to some major destruction and suffering. It has claimed many civilian lives, including, a 30-year-old Indian woman last week.

Fostering further extremism, the current fighting can potentially lead to a bigger humanitarian crisis not only in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel but in the whole region.

What is happening in Israel?

Past week, Palestinians and the Israeli police have been engaged in a confrontation, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, at the Al Aqsa Mosque and some other parts of the Old City.

The tensions erupted over an Israeli Supreme Court decision (now delayed) that sought to evict some Palestinian families from their homes in the volatile area of Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem.

What erupted the immediate fighting between Israel and Gaza?

Earlier on 12 April, Israel had barricaded Damascus Gate Plaza in East Jerusalem which is a popular gathering place for Palestinians during Ramzan. This led to widespread protests after which, on 16 April, Israel limited the number of people who can pray at Al-Aqsa to 10,000 people. This place is known to be the third holiest mosque in Islam situated in East Jerusalem.

Hamas, a militant group that rules over Gaza, issued a warning to Israeli police forces to leave the Al Aqsa mosque complex and the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood or else face attacks.

Acting on its warning, the militant group began firing rockets toward Israel on Monday evening which has led to a full-blown confrontation between both conflicting parties.

Some claim that these cross-border clashes could be the worst since the 2014 Gaza war, with Hamas sending hundreds of rockets toward central Israel.

What is the UN’s stand on the ongoing violence in Israel?

The UN Security Council has stated that “the parties must allow for mediation efforts to intensify with a view to ending the fighting immediately.”

The United Nations, which is already involved in providing humanitarian aid to the affected people in Gaza, has reiterated that only a sustainable political solution will lead to lasting peace in Isreal.

In a press statement released on 14 May, the UN Secretary-General reaffirmed his commitment, to support Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements, including through the Middle East Quartet.

India’s stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict

On Wednesday India took part in the UN Security Council consultations on the Middle East, wherein India’s representative T S Tirumurthi called for an “immediate de-escalation” and a need to refrain from changing the status quo.

India on its part views the cycle of violence as a desire of both parties to change the status quo, where an immediate end to violence could be the first step of bringing peace in the Israeli-Palestinian political process.