The European Union (EU) expressed on Saturday its deep concern at the serious escalation of violence in recent days in the occupied Palestinian territories, Israel and Lebanon.
The escalation in violence follows days of tension and clashes at the holy sites, including the intervention and use of force by Israeli police inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to a press release from the EU External Action Service.
The EU condemned the violence in the holy places, noting that the status quo of all holy places must be maintained. It called for an immediate end to the ongoing violence.
“We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation and to promote calm during the current religious holidays of and Ramadan,” it said.
Egypt had expressed its grave concern at the accelerated and dangerous escalation in the region over the past few days.
This came in the wake of the Israeli forces storming Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacking worshipers, as well as Israeli air strikes targeting areas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, and the continuing confrontations and violence in various forms and manifestations.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to respond to the efforts exerted to calm, stop the bloodshed and protect lives, warning of the serious dangers that the region would face if the current wave of violence continued.
