Kenya has urged for an urgent truce as the Israel-Palestine crisis escalates, leaving scores of people dead and thousands injured.
Amb Martin Kimani, Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, made the request during a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) discussion on the Middle East crisis on Sunday.
“Kenya calls for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of violence as the first step to a renewed push for peace. We strongly encourage the constructive steps by the respective national authorities to engage with the special coordinator and envoys of the Middle East,” Amb. Kimani said.
Amb Kimani urged for a de-escalation of tensions while also warning against illegal settlements on occupied territory, which he said might exacerbate the conflict.
Amb Kimani reaffirmed Kenya’s support for Security Council Resolution 2334, which called on Israel to cease all settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, on December 23, 2016.
“Israel’s building of settlements on Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity,” the Security Council said at the time, “constituting a blatant breach of international law and a serious impediment to the goal of two States living side by side in peace and security, within internationally recognized borders.”
Weeks of tension at Temple Mount, a cherished Jewish monument, near the Al Aqsa mosque, considered Islam’s third holiest site, caused the current round of violence between Israel and Palestine.
The conflict escalated into a full-fledged war, with Israeli troops bombing residential structures and Palestinian forces firing rockets at Israel.
