U.N. Leader Visits Israel, Palestinian Territories To Ease Tensions

Ban Ki-moon

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Jerusalem on Tuesday in an attempt to de-escalate tensions that have produced a spate of killings and retaliations between Israelis and Palestinians, demonstrating a diplomatic balancing act with no easy end in sight.

Over the past weeks, Israelis have been targeted in attacks where they've been "run over, stabbed, or even hacked to death," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke alongside Ban at a news conference.

Palestinians report, meanwhile, that 45 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza.

Ban has stature as the top official in the United Nations, but that hardly guarantees he'll be able to soothe tensions that have been simmering not just for weeks, but for decades.

His balancing act was apparent during the joint news conference, where Netanyahu accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of stoking fears that Israel threatens the holy site at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. These fears are a root of the violence, the Prime Minister said.

Ban added he also has been "deeply troubled by statements by Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, praising such heinous attacks." But he did not include Abbas in that group.

"Israelis and Palestinians stand on the brink of another catastrophic period of violence. We need to keep the situation from escalating into a religious conflict with potential regional implications. We must create conditions for meaningful negotiations that will end the occupation and realize the aspirations of both peoples," the secretary-general said.

(CNN)