UN Security Council statement on Jerusalem held up by US

Statement would condemn looming evictions of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah, but include panning of Gaza rockets, thanks to push from US, UK diplomats

By Jacob Magid
10 May 2021

NEW YORK — Hesitation from the US mission to the United Nations prevented the release of a joint statement by the Security Council’s members on the ongoing escalations in Jerusalem, after the top UN body held an emergency meeting on the subject earlier Monday, a diplomat involved told The Times of Israel.

During the meeting, the Norwegian mission introduced a proposal for a joint statement urging Israel to prevent the looming evictions of Palestinian families in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, and calling for “restraint” and respect for “the historic status quo at the holy sites,” diplomats involved in the meeting confirmed. The original statement also urged both sides to act in order to deescalate the situation, they said.

Recent days have seen police clash with Palestinian protesters near the homes of families facing eviction in Sheikh Jarrah as well as at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound, where tens of thousands of Muslim worshipers have gathered daily. Tensions peaked Monday with over 300 injured in clashes with cops at the latter site and Gaza terror groups firing dozens of rockets at southern Israel and at Jerusalem, in an apparent response to the East Jerusalem violence.

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