NEW YORK (United Nations), May 16 (Xinhua) – Norway, Tunisia, and China, which called a public Security Council debate on the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, demanded the immediate end of hostilities on Sunday.
Mona Juul, Norwegian ambassador to the UN, read a joint statement from the three countries after the Security Council meeting on Sunday.
Norway, Tunisia, and China expressed deep concern at the situation in Gaza and the growing number of civilian casualties and called for an immediate end to hostilities, full respect for international and humanitarian law, and protection. civilians, especially children, according to this joint statement.
“We called for the immediate cessation of all acts of violence, incitement to violence, provocation, destruction, and expulsion. We also expressed our concern about the tensions and violence in East Jerusalem, in particular in and around the holy places, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and we called for the greatest possible restraint and respect for the historic status quo in the holy places, ”the statement added.
The three countries urged Israel and the Palestinians to urgently work to reduce tensions and end the violence. They reiterated their support for a negotiated two-state solution in line with relevant United Nations resolutions and international law and called for the intensification and acceleration of diplomatic efforts to achieve this goal.
Sunday’s public debate was the Security Council’s first public event to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the current escalation began. The same three countries had previously managed to secure two rounds of closed-door Security Council consultations on this matter.
