Monitoring Desk
BRUSSELS: The European Union on Saturday condemned this week’s shooting incidents in Jerusalem and urged Israel to use lethal force as a last resort.
“The European Union fully recognizes legitimate security concerns of Israel,” as evidenced by the latest attacks, but it has to be emphasized that lethal force must only be used as a last resort when it is unavoidable to protect life,” said the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell.
Seven people were killed on Friday in a gun attack on a synagogue in east Jerusalem, and two others were injured in an attack in Jerusalem on Saturday morning.
The shooting incidents occurred after nine Palestinians were martyred in an Israeli forces raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
EU condemns attacks in Jerusalem
Borrell said the EU “strongly condemns” the attacks in Jerusalem, which it called “acts of insane violence and hate.”
He also stressed that Israeli forces had martyred 30 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the year.
Borrell added that last year’s toll, when “more than 150 people were martyred by Israeli forces in the West Bank, including 30 children”, was “the highest number since the end of the second intifada in 2005”.
He said it was “urgent … to reverse this spiral of violence and engage in meaningful efforts to restart peace negotiations. We call on all parties not to react to provocations.”
