UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United Nations chief on Thursday accused Israel of using disproportionate force against Palestinian groups in a recent raid and warned against escalating the violence.
A large-scale military operation by Israel in the occupied West Bank earlier this week killed 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier.
“There was an excessive force used by Israeli forces,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters in New York.
Israel has “legitimate concerns over its security,” he said, adding: “But escalation is not the answer. It simply bolsters radicalization and leads to a deepening cycle of violence and bloodshed.”
The Israeli raid, involving hundreds of forces, drone strikes and armored bulldozers, targeted the northern West Bank city of Jenin, a center for multiple armed Palestinian groups.
Guterres called Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in a crowded refugee camp “the worst violence in the West Bank in many years, with a significant impact on civilians, including more than one hundred injured and thousands forced to flee.”
Amid the days of violence, a Palestinian attacker in Tel Aviv on Tuesday wounded seven Israelis in a car ramming and stabbing attack before an armed civilian shot him dead.
“Restoring the hope of the Palestinian people in a meaningful political process, leading to a two-State solution and the end of the occupation, is an essential contribution by Israel to its own security,” Guterres added.
He also called on Israel, as an occupying power, to “ensure that the civilian population is protected against all acts of violence.”
© Agence France-Presse