The European Union condemned Palestinian rocket attacks into Israel, calling on all sides to aim for a de-escalation and to prevent further civilian casualties.
Palestinians fired uninterrupted barrages of rockets into Israel, while the Israeli military pounded Gaza with air strikes through the early hours of Tuesday, in a dramatic escalation of clashes in Jerusalem.
"The firing of rockets from Gaza against civilian populations in Israel is totally unacceptable and feeds escalatory dynamics," the European Commission said in a statement issued late on Monday.
"The significant upsurge in violence in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem as well as in and around Gaza needs to stop immediately," it added.
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A home destroyed by rockets fired from Gaza on Ashkelon early on Tuesday
(Photo: Shaul Golan)
On Monday, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, calling them illegal and saying they only served to fuel tensions on the ground.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also condemned the rocket attacks from Gaza against Israel on Monday and urged all sides to take steps to reduce tensions.
The U.N. Security Council held emergency consultations Monday on escalating violence in east Jerusalem and was considering a proposed statement calling on Israel to cease evictions and calling for “restraint” and respect for “the historic status quo at the holy sites.”
Ireland’s U.N. ambassador, Geraldine Byrne Nason, who joined in calling for the emergency meeting, said that “the Security Council should urgently speak out, and we hope that it will be able to do so today.”
Council diplomats said all 15 members expressed concern at the clashes and rising violence but the United States, Israel’s closest ally, said a statement might not be useful at this time.